Wigry - a Twisted Lake

Due to its extraordinary natural and landscape values, it is one of the most valuable water reservoirs in the world.

For centuries, Wigry has attracted people. In the Middle Ages, the tribe of Yotvingians settled here, and in the 17th century, the Camaldolese monks arrived on an island on the lake and built a monastery which is still an important feature of the Wigry landscape.

Lake Wigry, like most lakes in the Suwałki Region, was formed at the end of the last ice age. As a result of the pressure of the huge masses of the glacier, as well as the erosive action of meltwater, basins were formed, which then filled with water from the melting ice.

In 2015, a group of scientists from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń examined the area southeast of lake Wigry. Their particular attention was drawn to megadunes, or "terrain ripples" up to eight meters big, created by the flow of gigantic amounts of water.

This flood carried with it 2 million cubic meters of water per second. This is 10 times more than the average flow of the Amazon River. 
These values ​​place the Suwałki megaflood in the fifth place among the largest floods in the history of the Earth!

Today, the protection of the whitefish and the vendace consists in supplying the lakes with fry raised in the Park's fish hatchery. After fertilization, the eggs are placed in special hatching devices, which significantly increases their survival rate. 

Lake Wigry is known for an extraordinary richness of bird species. More than 30 species can be seen over the open waters of the lake. 

Several pairs of white-tailed eagles nest in the forests surrounding Wigry, and they can be observed over the lake hunting for fish and water birds.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Alfred Lityński, an outstanding scientist, hydrobiologist and limnologist, arrived at Lake Wigry. He founded the first Polish Hydrobiological Station here, which became a renowned research center and a school educating scientists.

Currently, the historic building of the hydrobiological station houses the Wigry Museum run by the Wigry National Park. 

One of the Museum's biggest attractions is the Leptodora - a boat with a glass bottom, which is used for education about the extraordinary natural values ​​of lake Wigry.

Lake Wigry is one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Poland. The National Park staff are trying to combine the idea of ​​nature conservation with making the lake accessible to tourists and anglers.