Lake · Slovakia
Orava Reservoir
The Orava Reservoir is a large artificial lake in the far north of Slovakia, reaching right up to the border with Poland. With 35.2 km², it is the largest body of water in Slovakia.
Picture credit: Ing.Mgr.Jozef Kotulič (CC BY-SA 3.0) · ANDREJ NEUHERZ (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Orava Reservoir?
Countries on its shores: Slovakia.
Largest body of water of: Slovakia.
Middle of the lake: 49.40° N, 19.55° E
The story behind it
Slovakia has no natural lake of this size. Its natural lakes are small mountain lakes, like those in the High Tatras. The biggest of them, Veľké Hincovo pleso, covers only about 0.2 km². So the largest body of water in Slovakia is this reservoir. It was made between 1941 and 1953, when a dam was built on the Orava River. The rising water flooded several villages, among them Slanica, Osada and Ústie. Part of the old village of Slanica is now an island. Its old church still stands there, and a newer building on the island is an art gallery. Slanica was the birthplace of Anton Bernolák, a priest and language scholar who lived in the 18th century. Another small island, Bird Island, is a protected home for herons, great cormorants and spoonbills. The dam also makes electricity, and today the area is a holiday region with many hotels and cottages.
Find it on the globe
Orava Reservoir is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
How big is the Orava Reservoir?
The Orava Reservoir covers 35.2 km², which makes it the largest body of water in Slovakia. On average, the water is about 15 metres deep.
Are there villages under the water?
Yes. When the dam was built between 1941 and 1953, several villages such as Slanica, Osada and Ústie were flooded. Only a small part of Slanica, with its old church, still rises above the water as an island.
Which birds live at the lake?
On Bird Island, a protected nature reserve in the lake, live herons, great cormorants, spoonbills and other water birds. The wetlands around the lake are counted among the most important in Europe.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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