Largest Lakes in Europe


Largest Lakes in Europe List 💦 Biggest European Lakes

The largest lakes in Europe are located to the east and west of the Russo-Finland border. The biggest Russian lakes in Europe are located in Karelia to the north west of St. Petersburg. The biggest lakes in Finland are in the Saimaa basin in southeastern Finland.

  • This biggest bodies of water in europe list was compiled by Robert Junker and last updated 18 Aug 2024.
Frequently Asked Question - FAQs About Largest Lakes in Europe

Where does the water in lakes come from?

As rain (direct precipitation), from higher ground and from underground springs.

Is lake water fresh or salty?

It is usually in-between. Because most lakes are frequently topped up with fresh rainwater lakes tend to have a lower salinity than seawater. Rainwater that falls on land and flows into a lake dissolves minerals - including salt - which increases the overall salinity of the water in that lake.

Are lakes in Siberia in Europe or Asia?

The lakes in Siberia are NOT included in our ADDucation list of the largest lakes in Europe because geographically Siberia (aka North Asia) is part of of Asia. However Siberia, historically and politically is a region within Russia.

ADDucation Tips: Click column headings with arrows to sort the largest lakes in Europe. Reload page for original sort order. Resize your browser to full screen and/or zoom out to display as many columns as possible. Click the ➕ icon to reveal any hidden columns.

Largest Lakes in Europe 💦 Area (km²) Size (mi²) Max Depth (m) Max Depth (ft) Volume (km3) Volume (mi3) Lake / Reservoir Country / Region Location and facts the largest lakes in Europe:
Lake Ladoga 17703 6835 230 755 910 218.3 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Republic of Karelia Ladoga lake is the biggest lake in europe. It’s located in northwestern Russia, north of St. Petersburg, on the border with Finland and contains over 500 islands.
Lake Onega 9720 3753 120 394 292 70.1 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Republic of Karelia Onega lake is located in northwestern Russia, east of lake Ladoga, and is the second largest lake in Europe.
Kuibyshev reservoir 6450 2490 44 144 58 13.9 Reservoir 🇷🇺 Russia, Samara Oblast Kuibyshev reservoir (aka Samara reservoir and Kuybyshev Sea) is the biggest reservoir in Europe, located on the river Volga in the European part of Russia.
Vänern lake 5519 2131 106 348 153 36.7 Natural lake 🇸🇪 Sweden Lake Vänern is the largest lake in the European Union (EU), located in southwestern Sweden.
Rybinsk reservoir 4580 1768 18 59 25 6.0 Reservoir 🇷🇺 Russia, Yaroslavl Oblast Rybinsk reservoir is part of the Volga-Kama river cascade located in the European part of Russia.
Saimaa lake 4370 1687 82 269 36 8.6 Natural lake 🇫🇮 Finland Lake Saimaa is the largest lake in Finland, located in southeastern Finland, close to the Russo-Finnish border. The Saimaa basin (which includes lake Saimaa) contains over 14,000 lakes.
Lake Peipus 3555 1373 15 49 0.0 Natural lake Estonia, Russia Lake Peipus is a border lake between Estonia and Russia, rich in fish and one of top ten largest lakes in Europe.
Zimljansk reservoir 2700 1042 24 5.8 Reservoir 🇷🇺 Russia, Rostov region Zimljansk reservoir is located on the lower reaches of the river Don, in the European part of southwestern Russia.
Kremenchuk reservoir 2252 869 28 92 13 3.1 Reservoir 🇺🇦 Ukraine Kremenchuk reservoir is on the Dnepr river, south east of Kiev.
Kachowka reservoir 2155 832 26 85 18 4.3 Reservoir 🇺🇦 Ukraine Kachowka reservoir, on the lower reaches of the Dnieper river, in south Ukraine makes the top 10 list of the largest lakes in Europe.
Vättern lake 1886 728 120 394 73 17.5 Natural lake 🇸🇪 Sweden Lake Vättern is the second largest lake in Sweden, located in Västra Götaland, west Sweden.
Saratov reservoir 1831 707 28 92 13 3.1 Reservoir 🇷🇺 Russia Saratov reservoir is located in European Russia and forms part of the river Volga-Kama cascade, opened in 1967/68.
Gorky reservoir 1590 614 22 72 9 2.2 Reservoir 🇷🇺 Russia The Gorky reservoir, built in 1955, is located 350 km (217 miles) north east of Moscow and forms part of the river Volga-Kama cascade.
Lake Vygozero 1250 483 18 59 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Republic of Karelia Lake Vygozero is located in northwestern Russia, north of lake Onega.  Lake Vygozero is one of the largest lakes in Europe and contains 529 islands.
Mälaren (Lake Malar) 1140 440 64 210 14 3.4 Natural lake 🇸🇪 Sweden Lake Malar is located west of Stockholm, Sweden’s third largest freshwater lake which is twice as big as Lake Constance.
IJsselmeer 1100 425 5 16 Natural and man made lake 🇳🇱 Netherlands IJsselmeer is a freshwater inland bay formed by dyking and embanking, adjacent to the North Sea in the north of the Netherlands.
Lake Beloye 1125 434 34 112 6.2 1.5 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Vologda Oblast Lake Beloye or White Lake (Not the White Lake in Siberia) is located in northwestern part of Vologda Oblast in Russia.
Lake Päijänne 1080 417 95 312 18 4.3 Natural lake 🇫🇮 Finland Finland’s longest and second biggest lake, located in the central south of the country, contains 1,886 islands.
Lake Inari 1040 402 92 302 16 3.8 Natural lake 🇫🇮 Finland, Lapland Lake Inari is Finland’s third largest lake located in northern Finland (Lapland) and north of the arctic circle.
Lake Topozero 986 381 50 164 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Republic of Karelia Lake Topozero is a freshwater lake in northwest Russia near the border to Finland, over 100 islands, and flows into the White Sea.
Lake Ilmen 982 379 10 33 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Novgorod Oblast Lake Ilmen is located in northwest Russia between Moscow and St. Petersburg. Around 50 rivers flow into Lake Ilmen which outflows to the river Volkhov.
Kyiv reservoir 922 356 8 26 4 1.0 Reservoir 🇺🇦 Ukraine The Kyiv hydroelectic reservoir, to the north of Kiev, was completed in 1966. Together with other reservoirs it creates a deep-water route on the Dnieper River with adverse environmental impact.
Lake Segozero 906 350 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Republic of Karelia Lake Segozero is a freshwater lake in Northwest Russia, near the Finnish border. It’s usually frozen in winter and empties into Lake Vygozero.
Pielinen lake 894 345 61 200 9 2.2 Natural lake 🇫🇮 Finland Pielinen lake is the east of Finland near the border to Russia.
Oulujärvi lake 928 358 38 125 Natural lake 🇫🇮 Finland Oulujärvi lake is located in central Finland and contains the island of Manamansalo which is 86 square kilometres (33 square miles).
Lake Imandra 876 338 67 220 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Murmansk Oblast Lake Imandra is located in northwestern Russia, on the Kola peninsula inside the Arctic Circle. Usually frozen in winter.
Pihlajavesi lake 712 275 72 236 18 4.3 Natural lake 🇫🇮 Finland Lake Pihlajavesi is part of the Saimaa lake system in southeastern Finland, near the Russo-Finnish border. It’s the sixth biggest lake in Finland, with the most lakes – around 4,000.
Markermeer 700 270 5 16 Natural and man made lake 🇳🇱 Netherlands Markermeer is named after Markern island which now lies within it. The Markerwaarddijk dyke separates the Markermeer from the IJseelmeer (Lake IJssel) located in central Netherlands.
Kaniwer reservoir 675 261 12 39 3 0.7 Reservoir 🇺🇦 Ukraine The Kaniwer reservoir is located on the river Dnieper (aka Dnepr, Dnipro, Dnyapro) south of Kiev.
Lake Pyaozero 659 254 49 161 10 2.4 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Republic of Karelia Lake Pyaozero is located in northwestern Russia, near the Russo-Finnish border, north of Toposero.
Lake Kovdozero 608 235 56 184 4 1.0 Natural lake 🇷🇺 Russia, Murmansk Oblast Lake Kovdozero is a natural lake which was enlarged by a dam from about 300 to 608 square kilometres located in south Murmansk, in northwestern Russia and contains over 580 islands.
Orivesi lake 601 232 74 243 6 1.4 Natural lake 🇫🇮 Finland Orivesi lake is part of the Saimaa lake system in the southeastern Finland, near the Russo-Finnish border.
Lake Balaton 592 229 12 39 2 0.5 Natural lake 🇭🇺 Hungary Lake Balaton (aka Hungarian Sea) is the biggest lake in central Europe and a popular tourist destination, located in the Transdanubian region of Hungary.
Lake Geneva 580 224 310 1017 89 21.4 Natural lake 🇨🇭 Switzerland
🇫🇷 France		 Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) is a cresent moon shaped border lake between west Switzerland and the French Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. At 310 metres deep Lake Geneva is the deepest lake in Europe.
Kamianske reservoir 567 219 16 52 2 0.5 Reservoir 🇺🇦 Ukraine The Kamianske reservoir (aka Dniprodzerzhynsk reservoir), built in 1962, is located on the lower part of the Dnieper river (aka Dnepr, Dnipro, Dnyapro) in Ukraine.
Haukivesi lake 560 216 55 180 5 1.2 Natural lake 🇫🇮 Finland Lake Haukivesi is part of the Saimaa lake system in southeastern Finland, near the Russo-Finnish border.
Lake Constance 536 207 251 823 48 11.5 Natural lake 🇩🇪 Germany
🇦🇹 Austria
🇨🇭 Switzerland		 Lake Constance, in the Alpine foothills, is a border lake between Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The total area is divided into the Obersee (“upper lake”, 473 sq. km / 183 sq. miles) and the Untersee (“lower lake”, 63 sq. km / 24 sq. miles).

See also: Largest Lakes in the World… | Longest Rivers in Europe

Watch People Walk on Lake Balaton – One of the Largest Lakes in Western Europe

  • Largest lakes in Europe in German: Größte Seen Europas…
  • Help improve ADDucation’s list of the largest lakes in Europe by adding your comments below…