The
Schluchsee is a reservoir
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
in the district of
Breisgau-HochschwarzwaldBreisgau-Hochschwarzwald is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Waldshut, Lörrach and the French départements of the Haut-Rhin and the Bas-Rhin. The district-free city of Freiburg is surrounded by the district...
, southeast of the
TitiseeTitisee is a lake in the southern Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg. It is said it got its name from Roman Emperor Titus. It covers an area of 1.3 km² and has an average depth of 20 m. It owes its creation to the Feldberg glacier, the moraine ploughed up by which in the Pleistocene epoch...
in the
Black ForestThe Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
near
Freiburg im BreisgauFreiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Located in the extreme south-west of the country, Freiburg straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
The Schluchsee, with its height of 930 metres above sea level, is the highest reservoir in Germany and also the largest lake in the
Black ForestThe Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
. By contrast the Hornberg Basin (
Hornbergbecken), is 1,048 metres above sea level, but is the upper basin of a pumped storage hydropower station, rather than a reservoir.
The water of the reservoir is relatively cool even in summer due to its high elevation.
The best-known settlements around the Schluchsee are on its northern shores and include the eponymous town of Schluchsee and the hamlets of Seebrugg by the dam itself and Aha.
The
Schluchsee is a reservoir
lakeA lake is a terrain feature , a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land...
in the district of
Breisgau-HochschwarzwaldBreisgau-Hochschwarzwald is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Waldshut, Lörrach and the French départements of the Haut-Rhin and the Bas-Rhin. The district-free city of Freiburg is surrounded by the district...
, southeast of the
TitiseeTitisee is a lake in the southern Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg. It is said it got its name from Roman Emperor Titus. It covers an area of 1.3 km² and has an average depth of 20 m. It owes its creation to the Feldberg glacier, the moraine ploughed up by which in the Pleistocene epoch...
in the
Black ForestThe Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
near
Freiburg im BreisgauFreiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Located in the extreme south-west of the country, Freiburg straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
Location
The Schluchsee, with its height of 930 metres above sea level, is the highest reservoir in Germany and also the largest lake in the
Black ForestThe Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
. By contrast the Hornberg Basin (
Hornbergbecken), is 1,048 metres above sea level, but is the upper basin of a pumped storage hydropower station, rather than a reservoir.
The water of the reservoir is relatively cool even in summer due to its high elevation.
The best-known settlements around the Schluchsee are on its northern shores and include the eponymous town of Schluchsee and the hamlets of Seebrugg by the dam itself and Aha. The
Three Lakes RailwayThe Three Lakes Railway is a 19.177 kilometre long electrified line in the German district of Landkreis Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is so called because it links the three lakes of Titisee, Windgfällweiher and Schluchsee...
, an extension of the Hölle Valley Railway, runs from
TitiseeTitisee-Neustadt is a city in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The town is a spa known for its Kneipp hydrotherapeutic and curative methods...
station along the northern shore to the terminus at Seebrugg.
Use
The surface of the original, undammed Schluchsee, a glacier lake, was around 30 metres lower than that of today's reservoir. Despite the dam, the Schluchsee appears natural. The lake is 7.3 long by 1.4 kilometres across. Its 63.5 m high dam was built between 1929 and 1932, impounding the river Schwarza. In order to construct this gravity dam, the natural lake had first to be deepened by 13 metres. That was achieved in 1930 by a blasting out a tunnel in the rock. After that the intake structure of the dam could be built. Today the lake has a maximum depth of 61 m.
The Schluchsee is part of the Schluchsee hydropower station complex run by the
Schluchseewerk which has a number of reservoirs of different heights linked by pumping stations. This complex stretches from
HäusernHäusern is a town in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
to
WaldshutWaldshut-Tiengen is a city in southwestern Baden-Württemberg right at the Swiss border. It is the district seat and at the same time the biggest city in Waldshut district and a "middle centre" in the area of the "high centre" Lörrach/Weil am Rhein to whose middle area most towns and communities in...
. The Schluchsee is therefore the upper basin of the Häusern pump storage hydropower station. The average power generated by the Häusern power station is 100 Megawatts.
The Schluchsee is a popular particularly with swimmers and sailors. Unlike the Titisee, almost all of the Schluchsee's shoreline is easily accessible. As a result the Schluchsee is very busy in summer and is a popular local resort - even just across the Swiss border.
Skinny dippingNude swimming is swimming naked, i.e. without any swimsuit. Skin diving is both used as a synonym and for free diving.- Etymology :...
on the forested side of the lake occasionally causes offence however.
In 1982 the Schluchsee became known Germany-wide as the
Schlucksee ("Swig Lake") because the German football team 1982 chose the area as their
training campPhysical exercise is any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness and overall health. It is performed for many different reasons. These include strengthening muscles and the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance and for enjoyment...
and some players, permitted by the
team managerThe Germany national football team manager is a position created in 1926 and first held by Otto Nerz. The German team began playing matches in 1908, but for 18 years it had no manager. Instead a selection committee chose the team.Ten different men have occupied the post since its inception, all of...
,
Jupp DerwallJosef "Jupp" Derwall was a German football player and coach. Derwall was manager of the Germany national football team between 1978 and 1984, winning the 1980 European Football Championship and reaching the final of the 1982 World Cup...
, made full use of it. Excessive
alcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. An important group of acohols is formed by the simple acyclic alcohols, the general formula for which is C
nH
2n+1OH...
consumption, card games and other escapades showed the subsequent world runners-up in a bad light.
In 1983 almost all the water in the reservoir was drawn down for inspection purposes, rendering the normal swimming, fishing and sailing activities impossible. This rare occurrence still drew many visitors, however, because for the first time the drowned settlements were visible again.
In recent times there have been several conflicts between the Schluchseewerk and the municipality of Schluchsee over the water level of the lake in summer. Whilst the Schluchseewerk is interested in the optimal, economic use of the water and therefore a considerable reduction in the level of the lake, the town is concerned about losing tourists if the lake falls too low for long periods during the summer and exposes a rather unsightly shoreline.
Walking
The Schluchsee is surrounded by numerous walking trails in the local area. The entire length of the shoreline, about 18 km long, is walkable, mostly level and suitable for prams. From May to October the walks may be combined with boat trips on the pleasure cruiser
St. Nikolaus.
External links