15 Major tourist centers: • Kamień Pomorski • Wolin • Nowe Warpno

15 Major tourist centers: • Kamień Pomorski • Wolin • Nowe Warpno

Major tourist centers:
• Kamień Pomorski • Wolin
• Nowe Warpno • Trzebież
•Stepnica
‘Zalew Szczeciński’ (Szczecin Lagoon) is one of
the largest inland waters in Central Europe, with
an area of almost six hundred and ninety square
kilometers. It is a bay in the Baltic Sea, in the form
of a shallow lagoon close to the sea with an average depth of 3.8 meters and a maximum depth of
10.5 meters, (in the artificial channels created for
ocean liners). It is divided into two main parts by
its complicated coastline: the small lagoon, on the
German side of the border, and the large lagoon on
the Polish side. The islands of Wolin and Uznam are
to be found to the north of this lagoon. The water
of the lagoon lies between these islands and the
mainland, and is connected to the sea through
three channels, the Piana, Świna and Dziwna. This
lagoon is supplied with water from a number of
rivers, the largest of which are: the Odra, the Uecker (Wkra), and the Gowienica. Strong Baltic winds
sometimes push sea water into the lagoon, which
means that the water is permanently, but not
greatly, saline.
Winds on the lagoon are primarily westerly,
north-westerly and northerly with a maximum
strength of five on the Beaufort scale. Because
its waters are vast and shallow, strong winds can
swiftly create waves as high as two meters in winter and one meter forty centimeters in summer.
To the east of Zalew Szczeciński lies the Dziwna
channel, which widens around Kamień Pomorski
to form the Kamień Lagoon, which encompasses
Chrząszczewska island, the third largest island in
Poland. Wrzosowska Lagoon lies even further to
the north.
The whole area surrounding these lagoons is full
of beautiful nature and scenery. Over one hundred
and fifty species of bird are resident here, including
some rare ones, such as: redshank, robin, snipe and
aquatic warbler. The largest colony of white-tailed
eagles in Europe is also to be found here.
Both lagoons are able to provide excellent conditions for a wide variety of water sports, and are
far less crowded than the Masurian lakes. For this
reason, everyone can find their own quiet and se-
cluded spot with little difficulty. Given the moderate weather conditions, yachting here can be
treated as a gentle introduction to sea sailing, and
these waters can be recommended to beginners as
a first step to this beautiful sport. To the south and
east of the lagoon lie some well-equipped moorings, including: Stepnica (200 yachts), Trzebież
(120 yachts), Kamień Pomorski (240 yachts). Smaller facilities may be found in Police, Gąsierzyno, Kopice, Łunowo, Nowe Warpno, Wolin and Dziwnów.
Trzebież is famous for its Central Sailing Center, the
most important in Poland. Ten thousand yachtsmen have already been trained here.
The waters of the lagoon have attracted amateur
wind and kite surfers, who particularly like the
area around Trzebież and Czarnocin, mainly because of the steady winds throughout the season,
but such conditions may also be found in Nowe
Warpno, Kamień Pomorski and around Wolin and
Sułomino. The waters around Czarnocin offer ex-
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