Gopło

Gopło
View from the Mouse Tower ofKruszwica
Gopło
Location	Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
Coordinates	52°35′08″N18°21′15″E
Primary inflows	Noteć
Primary outflows	Noteć
Basincountries	Poland
Max. length	25 km (16 mi)
Max. width	3.5 km (2.2 mi)
Surface area	21.8 km2(8.4 sq mi)
Average depth	4.7 m (15 ft)
Max. depth	16.6 m (54 ft)
Surface elevation	77 m (253 ft)

Gopło[ˈɡɔpwɔ]is aribbon lakeinKuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship,north-centralPoland,near the city ofGniezno.It gives its name to theprotected areacalledGopło Landscape Park.

In early Middle Ages, the shores of Lake Gopło were home to aLechitictribe known as theGoplans.At the northern end of the lake stands the "Mice Tower" ofKruszwica.Its name derives from a legend of the corrupt PrincePopiel,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 thePolans,the "founding" tribe of Poland.

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,ISBN5-7057-0547-6,pp. 278–87