Gopło
lake
Gopło ([ˈɡɔpwɔ]) is a ribbon lake in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, north-central Poland, near the city of Gniezno. It gives its name to the protected area called Gopło Landscape Park.
Gopło is the largest natural water reservoir in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship and the historical Kuyavia (Kujawy) region, being the eleventh largest lake in modern Poland.
In early Middle Ages, the shores of Lake Gopło were home to a Lechitic tribe known as the Goplans. At the northern end of the lake stands the "Mice Tower" of Kruszwica. Its name derives from a legend of the corrupt Prince Popiel, who fled to the tower from his rebelling population, and was devoured there by mice. Some historians and archaeologists consider the area the heart of the first state of the Polans, the "founding" tribe of Poland.
Notes
References
Lozny, Ludomir (2004), "The Transition to Statehood in Central Europe", in Grinin, Leonid E, et al. (eds.), The Early State, Its Alternatives and Analogues, Saratov: Uchitel Publishing House, ISBN 5-7057-0547-6, pp.
“Gopło” enters the record as lake. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Gopło and lake can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Gopło” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Gopło and lake provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 25, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1012060. VIAF identifies the subject as 240081313. Authority coordinates are 52.586, 18.354. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2004.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Gopło” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.