Photo: HAMPOS · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Polyfytos is one of the largest artificial lakes in Greece. It was created in 1974 by the Polyfyto Dam on the Aliakmon river, built by the Public Power Corporation of Greece, which runs a hydroelectric power station at the dam near the village of Polyfyto. The lake lies in the Kozani regional unit and is crossed by two bridges, the Servia High Bridge at Neraida, which carries Greek National Road 3, and a smaller one near Rymnio.
History
The rising water drowned the village of Neraida, built by Asia Minor refugees in 1929, by 1974. Most of its people moved to Athens, Thessaloniki and Kozani; those who stayed founded a new village about 1 km to the north-west. The High Bridge of Servia, 1,372 m long and designed by Riccardo Morandi, opened in 1976. It was closed in 2023 after cracks were found in one of its pillars, and has since been restored and reopened to traffic.
Nature
The lake lies between the mountains of Pieria, Vermio and Askio. The surrounding wetland has more than 120 bird species, including Dalmatian pelicans, herons and birds of prey, and carp, bream and eels live in the water.
Gallery
Photo: HAMPOS · CC BY-SA 4.0
Visit
Swimming
No reliable information
Tips
People come to fish, watch birds, row, water-ski and wakeboard. Neraida has the best view of the bridge and plenty of places to eat, and the chapel of Agios Christoforos looks over the lake and both bridges. There are small access points for boats and roadside parking near the dam. Autumn gives good light, and late spring is best for water levels, since muddy banks in drought years can block boat access.
The lake has no widely advertised official beaches or lifeguards, so people swim from the shore or from boats, and should keep clear of dam works and intakes. Nearby, Velvento has traditional mansions and a folklore museum, Skepasmeno a waterfall and plane forest, and Servia a Byzantine castle with wide views.
Nearby lakes
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Sources & data
- Greece's 2022 Water Framework Directive reporting to the EEA: lake (LW) and transitional (TW) water bodies, field cArea, European Environment Agency (WISE WFD), reported by Greece, 2022
- OpenStreetMap: Τεχνητή Λίμνη Πολυφύτου (relation 11923163), OpenStreetMap contributors
- English Wikipedia: Lake Polyfyto, Wikimedia Foundation
- Wikidata: Lake Polyfytos (Q12880045), Wikimedia Foundation
- Lake Polyfytos, Visit West Macedonia
- Polyfytos lake and the High Bridge, Travel.gr
- Neraida, Kozani, All Over Greece