Poznań: Imagine you're not in the city
Malta Lake, Poznań/Fot. Shutterstock
Would you like to have a swim in a lake? There are four to choose from in Poznań: Rusałka, Kierskie, Malta and Strzeszyńskie. Kierskie Lake is popular with sailors - the capricious winds on the lake make it a perfect training place. If you can sail on Kierskie you won't have problems anywhere else. This is the lake where people come to swim all year round, thanks to winter swimmers, called walruses in Polish, who chose one of the beaches on the Ulica Słupska side of the lake for their Sunday meetings. Just before 11a.m. they chop a hole in the ice and jump into the water. Anyone can join them, all you need are ordinary swimming trunks, a towel and some neoprene socks (your feet freeze fastest).
The other lakes, Malta and Rusałka are closer to the centre of the city. You can reach Malta Lake easily, approaching it from the side of cathedral for instance. If you don't want to swim you can walk or jog around the lake (the whole route is 5.3 km long). But look out for the numerous cyclists, rollerbladers, joggers, walkers and nordic walking enthusiasts. You can ride on the toboggan run or ski downhill. Malta is a kind of sport and recreational centre, too. To reach Rusałka Lake straight from the Ogrody (Gardens) tram terminus you walk down Ulica Botaniczna (which is a beautiful street! We recommend to visit!) which ends with a tunnel. This tunnel is a kind of passage between two worlds: it begins in a residential district and ends in the woods. A short walk is it then takes to reach the beach. If sunbathing is not your cup of tea, you can always go for a jog too.
The newest and beautiful history of Poznań is bound with Rusałka Lake. It's 1998. Parked cars in the distance. Closer to the lake, crowds of people. A sudden scream, "They're Jarema's people!? Horses and riders ride into the lake, splashing the water. "Cut! Once again" - shouts the location manager.
It was more or less like that. Well, no one screamed "Jarema's people!". The sound to "With fire and sword" by Jerzy Hoffman was added later in the studio. However, the film was shot among other places in Poznań on Rusałka Lake. It pretended to be the great Dnieper river, where the noble Zagłoba and Helena ran from Bohun. Bohun's group chased right into the river's waters, while Zagłoba shouted that they were Jarema Wisniowiecki's people to mislead the chasers.
Poznań helped Hoffmann's crew not only on Rusałka Lake. The military range in Biedrusko near Poznań stood in for the Ukrainian steppe during the staging of the Battle over Yellow Waters, and the wolves from the breeding station in Stobnica acted as Helena's and Zagloba's oppressors.
Today Rusałka Lake, a reservoir built by the Germans in 1943, is also the scene of many chases, but only after health and fitness. It's one of the city's favourite spots for walking, running and spending time in the fresh air. In summer it's great for camping, swimming and sunbathing.
It's worth walking around it, to see just how beautiful it is. Like the Dnieper - as alike as two drops of water.