Czarny Staw Gąsienicowy

Black Pond Gąsienicowy is the largest post-glacial lake in the Gąsienicowa Valley and the fourth pond in terms of depth in the Tatra mountains. It owes its name to the dark color of the water, caused by the presence of blue-green algae and the shadow cast by the Kościelec massif steeply rising above the surface of the water.

A blue trail from Kuźnice leads to the Pond and can take you further to the Zawrat pass. Also on the eastern shore of the lake begins the yellow trail to the Granaty. On the west side of the pond runs a green path to the Karb pass, from which leads the black-colored approach to Kościelec.

The Black Stream Gąsienicowy begins in the lake. There is also an islet overgrown with dwarf mountain pine here, on which in the first years of the 20th century the erection of the mausoleum of Juliusz Słowacki was planned. The idea was abandoned under the influence of protests by nature protection activists. At the end of the 19th century, the reservoir was artificially stocked.

The pond delights travelers and inspires artists: it appeared in the works of, among others, Wojciech Gerson, Leon Wyczółkowski, Alfred Schouppé and Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer.