Emerald Lake Szczecin

Chalk and marl were quarried here from the nineteenth century for cement, and in 1925 the workings broke through into an aquifer; the pit flooded fast enough that the equipment could not be got out, and locomotives, wagons and machinery went under and are still on the bottom, which divers have documented. What was left is a lake about a kilometre long and up to seventeen metres deep, with the dissolved chalk giving the water a strong green - the emerald of the name - against white walls, in the middle of the Puszcza Bukowa beech forest on the edge of Szczecin. Paths circle it and there is a viewpoint above. Swimming is prohibited: the sides are steep and unstable, the water is cold, and drownings have happened here. The beech forest around it is a landscape park with marked trails, springs and old quarry remnants, and it makes an easy half-day from the city.

What you actually see

• A 1925 flooding - the pit broke into an aquifer and filled before the machinery got out.
• Machinery on the bottom - locomotives and wagons still there, documented by divers.
• Chalk-green water - dissolved chalk colouring it against white quarry walls.
• Beech forest around - the Puszcza Bukowa park with trails from the city edge.

When to go

April to October; bright days for the colour. Two hours.

Honest expectations

Swimming is prohibited and there have been drownings - the banks are steep and unstable. The colour varies with light and season. Weekend crowds from Szczecin are heavy. There are no facilities at the lake.

Nearby

Szczecin city centre is west; the Puszcza Bukowa trails run east.