Drużno

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Drużno Lake (also called Druzno Lake) is a lake and nature preserve in northern Poland on the east side of the Vistula delta, near the city of Elbląg.

The German name Draussensee, in earlier records called Drusensee, is connected to the ancient trade city of Truso, which stood within the lands now occupied by Elbląg. The lake is greatly reduced from its original size partly due to large building expansion of housing in the last few decades, but mainly because of the natural death of the lake by sedimentation.

The origin of the name of this lake is now sometimes assumed to be Slavic or Venetic, since "(Z)Drużno" means "together" in Slavic languages. It was probably a place of gathering and resting for the caravan traders of various nationalities, but predominantly Viking. The southeast coast of the Baltic was under the domination of Vikings during the floruit of Truso.

Geography

The lake is to the east of the Nogat, the main right branch of the lower Vistula, at the edge of the lowland of the delta (Zulany Wislane), which is a region of shifting sediments and channels partly controled by dikes, dams and ditches, about 181 sq. km. in area and sometimes up to 1.8 m below sea level. The delta ends at Elblag upland (Wysoczyzna Elblaska), much of which is wooded. The delta itself is sparsely populated, despite the presence of large cities nearby (Gdansk, Elblag and others) and is a wildlife habitat of great natural beauty.

The lake today is a 13-29 sq. km. body of water up to 1.5 m. deep surrounded by and including marsh, swamp and thicket. On its surface are floating Nymphaea, submerged are Potamogeton and the marshes feature tracts of Phragmites. The lake is drained by the Elblag River. It should have sedimented over long ago but the high throughput of water from various sources brings fresh Oxygen into the lake, retarding its aging.

Today the lake is valuable mainly as a nature preserve. Some 20,000 migratory waterfowl use it, mainly Anser, Anas, Grus and Chlidonias.

In ancient times the lake was deeper and of wider extent. In the troubled Viking Age and the conflicts and acts of piracy between the various tribes of the Balts and voyagers from Scandinavia and elsewhere, the lake would have been an ideal masked route for shallow-bottom vessels, such as the Viking ships. Truso was probably situated to control the main access up the Elblag River. When the lake became useless for that purpose Elblag was still a port with access to the Zalew Wislany and through there to the Gulf of Danzig. It rose to prominance as that, swallowing up the former Truso (remains of which have been uncovered near the railway station).

External links

[Druzno Lake] (Birdlife International website).
[New Ramsar sites for Poland], describes the formation of the Druzno Lake Nature Reserve in recent times.

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