Mill Lake is one of the largest lakes in Bucharest, a beautiful place that offers beautiful and lush landscapes for those who are looking for a serene destination where they can relax and enjoy a slower pace of life. With an area of 246 ha and located at 6 km from Bucharest’s center, this blue attraction is one of the most appreciated destinations for locals or tourists with a passion for photography and unique scenery.
Mill Lake is actually an accumulation lake created in 1986 on Dambovita River after closing the Ciurel Dam, a dam that was built for protecting Bucharest from floods. The lake is located between the Crangasi neighborhood, Giulest neighborhood and Chiajna village. Mill Lake also allowed the construction of a recreational area in Crangasi neighborhood and ensures a rate of clean leakage on Dambovita within the Capital’s limits.
The Lake resulted when the 15 meters tall Ciurel Dam was built which has a central concrete body reinforced with earth dams that measure 7 km. It truly is a remarkable man made construction that generated one of the most stunning artificial lakes in the country. In the northern side of the lake there is one of its most interesting treasures, a 32.723 m² peninsula called “Mill Lake Island” which is connected to the lake’s shore by a narrow trail of land. To enhance its beauty, in 2011 a few volunteers planted 475 trees here. Due to its unique and exotic beauty, the Mill Lake Island hosted a few very important music concerts, festivals, water sports and shows. For instance, the “Coke Live” music festival took place here.
Mainly, the lake is used as a recreational destination and very often it offers cultural shows, Air-Show exhibitions, scooter, boat and sailboats competitions. Windsurf is another increasingly popular sports on Mill Lake. Actually, here there are courses for water sky, windsurf, sky jet and other modern water sports.
There are even a few projects that plan to turn Mill Lake into a travel destination, a residential complex, a business and a commercial center. To ease the access to this fantastic attraction there is even a project of building a highway tunnel that would connect Bucharest’s center with Mill Lake and A1 highway.
The lake was built by the communists on a ground that used to be occupied by the Saint Nicolas Church and its cemetery. These two were covered by concrete and initially the architects wanted to build in the center of the lake shops, promenades and benches. But these plans were seized in ’89 and in their place Mill Lake resulted. Now this is the favorite destination for photographers, locals or tourists who are looking for a green alternative to the grayish city décor.
When you are in the mood of discovering a beautiful gem in Bucharest do not hesitate to take a short trip to Mill Lake where you can admire one of the largest lakes in the city, stunning scenery and even try out some thrilling water sports.
