Europe’s Best & Worst Countries for a Swim
United States swimmers have won the title 51 times, followed by Australia (13 times) and East Germany (11 times). This ratio is approximately proportional to the number of gold medals won by the respective nations at the Olympics. Swimming was not allowed in Germany until the early 20th century. If you drowned, you were whipped as a punishment for your actions. The ban on swimming led to an increase in drownings and attempted drownings during this time period.
Among the different nations, various preferences can be seen regarding types of sport. Hiking, cycling, running andswimming however seem to be the most common sports as they are recurrent among the most popular sports in most countries such as France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and most others.
20 of Europe’s most stunning beaches to explore in 2022
- Haukland Beach, Norway. …
- Cala Goloritzè, Italy. …
- West Beach, Scotland. …
- Plage de Palombaggia, Corsica. …
- Platja Illetes, Spain. …
- Barafundle Bay, Wales. …
- Praia da Arrifana, Portugal. …
- Cala Macarella, Menorca.
What country has the clearest water in Europe?
Europe’s cleanest bathing waters
- Austria (97.7%)
- Malta (96.6%)
- Greece (95.8%)
- Croatia (95.7%)
- Cyprus (93.3%)
- Denmark (91.9%)
- Germany (90.4%)
- Bulgaria (89.8%)
Europe’s Best Countries to Swim
With 97.7%, Austria’s open waters are great places for tourists who love wild swimming. The best part: Austria is home to beautiful lakes.
Some of them include: Lake Neusiedler See in Burgenland, Lake Mondsee in Upper Austria, and Lake Wörthersee in Carinthia among others, according to Austria Info.
Trailing Austria in the second position is Malta, which has 96.6%. Malta may be famous for playing host to a lot of historic sites related to a succession of rulers like the Knights of Saint John, the Romans, and Moors among others, the country’s open waters are healthy for swimming.
A lake that brings Malta to mind is Chadwick lakes also known as Wied il-Qlejgha, artificial freshwater lakes that attract tourists around the world.
Malta is followed by Greece with 95.8% while Croatia and Cyprus scored 95.7% and 93.3% respectively.
Country | Ranking |
Austria | 97.7% |
Malta | 96.6% |
Greece | 95.8% |
Croatia | 95.7% |
Cyprus | 93.3% |
Denmark | 91.9% |
Germany | 90.4% |
Lithuania | 89.2% |
Bulgaria | 89.6% |
Portugal | 88.5% |
Sources EEA
Europe’s Worst Countries for Wild Swimming
While Austria, Malta, and other EEA member countries look good for open swimming, Poland, the 9thlargestcountry in Europeby population, which comes at the bottom of the ranking doesn’t look good because of its 44.5% score which is below the standard set by EEA.
Below are the top three EU countries where wild swimming according to the report, is not ‘excellent’.
- Poland: 44.5%https://d7e6ae810a9acdedd86fb1a0de129087.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html
- Slovakia: 50.0%
- Hungary: 60.2%
What is Wild Swimming?
Wild swimming is adventurous swimming in an open natural pool of water that has no man-made structure, no human-made barriers. Some of the safety guides of wild swimming include testing the depth, the nature of aquatic animals inside the water, and cleanness among others
What is Europe’s cleanest lake? Lake Annecy
Lake Annecyoriginates from around 18,000 years ago, as a result of the melting of glaciers in the Alps. Today, it is considered the second largest lake in France and it has the title of the cleanest lake in Europe, due to strict environmental regulations introduced around 1960.
Where is the best sea in Europe? Porto Santo – Madeira Islands – Portugal
Awarded the title of “Best Beach in Europe 2022″, the golden sandy beach of Porto Santo is world famous. Bolonia, second best beach in Europe.