Decksteiner pond

The Decksteiner Weiher, looking north

The pond seen from the house on the lake

Decksteiner Weiher in January 2017 - frozen over

The Decksteiner Weiher is an artificially created pond with straight banks in the outer green belt of the city of Cologne . It plays an important role in leisure activities as a park .

history

The pond was created between 1927 and 1929 by the head of the design office of the Cologne garden administration, City Planning Officer Theodor Nussbaum , according to plans for the redesign of the former Cologne fortress ring into the outer green belt. These were based on the overall urban development plan of Fritz Schumacher and the ideas of Konrad Adenauer . The plant was built as part of job creation measures , just like the expansion of the city forest with the Adenauerweiher under Fritz Encke in 1919–1927 . Nussbaum was a fan of water sports and so the pond was created as a practice course for rowing . The pond got its name after the Deckstein residential area, a former courtyard with a mill near the hamlets of Kriel and Lind in the later Cologne-Lindenthal district . Because the pond dominates the park part of the green belt, no other name has developed for the section.

layout

Sketch Fort VI with nw. Part of the Decksteiner pond

A square part with an inaccessible central island and a square recess in the northwest corner for the “Haus am See” gastronomic facility with an outdoor terrace is connected to a larger basin in the southeast by a canal that is accompanied by a chestnut avenue . In the south-eastern end, a larger square area protrudes, which consists of a widened avenue of plane trees . A wide jetty is laid out here. Another is located on the north bank of the canal near facilities of the former Fort VI , where boats can be stored.

The pond has a size of about 20 hectares and a depth of about 1.50 m, the excavation was heaped up on the southern side to form viewing hills, which are used for sledge runs in winter.

Water quality, population and ecology

Canal part of the Decksteiner Weiher

The pond has no natural inflow and outflow; tap water is supplied if necessary. A conversion to pumped groundwater is planned. The bottom is muddy, so carp feel comfortable here . Other types of fish include perch , bream , pike , roach , tench , pikeperch and even eels . The fishing is operated by the "Cölner Angel- und Gewässerschutzverein". The Decksteiner Weiher is not designated as an official bathing water and bathing there is prohibited according to the Cologne Green Area Regulations.

Hawks have been nesting on the trees on the natural island in the pond since 1987 . This was the first couple in Cologne. There are now around 20 couples living in the city.

Freetime activities

The area at the “Haus am See” is cordoned off at the beginning of the canal, where a boat rental is operated, including pedal boats . A mini golf course is also in the immediate vicinity. At the other end of the pond is the 1. FC Köln sports park . There are two rings of footpaths around the pond that are equipped with park benches. There are bridle paths a little further away. The traffic noise from the nearby federal motorway 4 or the military ring is muffled by the forest plantings that accompany the pond and its open spaces. A running club at the Decksteiner Weiher offers various circular routes. The simplest measures 5.8 km around the lake.

In the summer of 2013, on the initiative of the Cologne Green Foundation, the Green Space Office created a fitness trail sponsored by Sportstätten GmbH . It is located at the end of the lake on Berrenrather Straße.

Accesses

The pond is bordered by Berrenrather Straße at the southeastern end and Bachemer Landstraße at the northwestern end. Gleueler Strasse leads across the canal , from which Decksteiner Strasse leads straight ahead just before the autobahn, over its own bridge over the autobahn to parking lots on Beller Maar ; further access is only possible for cyclists. Access from Cologne and from Hürth on the other side of the green belt is easy and straightforward. The area can also be reached on a footpath and a footbridge from the Beethovenpark . There are parking spaces on all streets in the pond area; Parking is also possible at the sports park.