People settled near the lake about 10 thousand years ago. Linguists think that its name is probably from the
Indo-European root *
nar- often found in names of bodies of water (e.g., the
Nara and
Neris rivers). Archaeologists have excavated many burial mounds of the
Baltic and
Slavic people that lived around Narach. Since the
Middle Ages, the local inhabitants have lived mainly by fishing and farming. In the 19th century, the most profitable work was fishing of crayfish. In the 20th century, the
eel became the main marketable fish. During
World War I, the surrounding area was a focal point of the
Lake Naroch Offensive (March–April 1916), an inconclusive offensive operation mounted by forces of the
Imperial Russian Army against the
German army. In 1919, German composer
Siegfried Wagner set to music a poem by Günther Holstein (1892-1931) about a military battle, called
Nacht am Narocz (Night at lake Narach). In the 1930s, the fishers of Narach rose against Polish authorities defending their right to exploit the lake. Since the 1950s, the lake has become a popular
resort and
tourism site, located in the
resort town of
Narach. A
Young Pioneer camp of national importance
Zubryonok was located near the lake. After the
dissolution of the Soviet Union the camp was reformed into the National Children's Recreational Camp "
Zubrania", which is now the most important children's recreational camp in Belarus. In 1999, the
government of Belarus created the
Narachanski National Park. == See also ==