Ratzeburg Lake

Ratzeburg Lake
Römnitzer Mühle jetty
GKZ	DE: 962419 (Küchensee), 962431 (Domsee), 962437 (Großer Ratzeburger See)
Geographical location	In the southeast of Schleswig-Holstein
Tributaries	Schaalseekanal , streams, springs and surface water of the catchment area
Drain	Wakenitz
Islands	Cathedral Island
Places on the shore	Ratzeburg
Data
Coordinates	53 ° 44 '4 "  N , 10 ° 45' 22"  E Coordinates: 53 ° 44 '4 "  N , 10 ° 45' 22"  E
Altitude above sea level	3.4  m above sea level NN
surface	12.59 km²
volume	0.1449 km³
Maximum depth	24.4 m
Middle deep	11.5 m
Ratzeburg Cathedral Island

The Ratzeburger See is a lake in the southeast of Schleswig-Holstein in the Lauenburg Lakes Nature Park .

Geography and location

The northeast bank borders on Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (municipality of Utecht ) in the Schaalsee biosphere reserve . The communities of Groß Sarau , Pogeez and Buchholz are located on the western shore of the lake . Together with the Küchensee, it encloses the island town of Ratzeburg . The division of the lake area into the Großer Ratzeburger See, the Domsee and the Großer and Kleine Küchensee came about when dams were built between the lake shore and the cathedral island:

• The historically oldest connection between the island city and the surrounding area was the "Lüneburger Damm" in the west, which connected Ratzeburg with the "Old Salt Road" as an important trade route;
• from 1842 to 1847 the island was then connected to the surrounding area on the east side through the construction of the “Königsdamm”, which was officially given this name in 1854 in the presence of and in honor of the Danish King Friedrich VII in Ratzeburg;
• In 1894 another dam was built between the island and the east bank, namely the "Kleinbahndamm" built for the Ratzeburger Kleinbahn , which is located a little south of the "Königsdamm" and created a connection to Ziethen and Mustin ; Rail traffic has not taken place on this dam since 1934.

Through these three dams, the Ratzeburg Lake was divided into the following individual lakes:

• The Große Küchensee is located south of Lüneburger Damm, Insel and Kleinbahndamm and extends to Farchau;
• the Kleine Küchensee (also known as the “Stadtsee”, a little more melodious by the town of Ratzeburg, but often called “Spittnapf” by locals because of its manageable size) lies between the two eastern dams of Königsdamm (in the north) and Kleinbahndamm (in the south);
• the Domsee lies north of the Königsdamm and merges with the northwest bend into the Großer Ratzeburger See; it is not separated from this by a dam, but by a somewhat narrower passage between the cathedral peninsula and the lake shore near Römnitz, the so-called "Römnitzer Enge";
• the Great Ratzeburger See then goes in the north to Rothenhusen .

Since the dams have passable passages, it is possible to navigate all four parts of the Ratzeburg lake with appropriate (not too high) boats.

reachability

The federal highway 208 from Bad Oldesloe to Gadebusch and Wismar runs through the city of Ratzeburg and as Lüneburger Damm and Königsdamm also through the lake in a west-east direction . Not far from the west bank, the B 207 ( Alte Salzstraße ) runs parallel to the lake from Lübeck to Lüneburg , which is crossed by the Federal Highway 20 about a kilometer north of Rothenhusen , an old Lübeck customs station at the outlet of the Wakenitz from the lake . The excursion boats coming from Lübeck and Ratzeburg dock in Rothenhusen. In addition to the new motorway bridge, the Wakenitzbrücke near Rothenhusen, which was renewed in 2009, is the only road connection from Schleswig-Holstein to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania between Lübeck and Ratzeburg.

Tributaries

In the Ratzeburger See, the Bäk drains as an overflow from the Mechower See , and the Schaalseekanal coming from the Salemer See , which drives one of the few hydroelectric power stations in Schleswig-Holstein.

Geomorphology and natural space

The lake, which is almost ten kilometers long and a maximum of 24 meters deep, is a soft ice age glacier tongue lake that today drains into the Baltic Sea via the Wakenitz and Trave . In the high and late glacial periods, the meltwater first drained south at Farchau and later at Einhaus to the west to the Einhaus-Fredeburger-Rinne in the direction of the Elbe glacial valley.

The steep bank of the lake is densely forested. At numerous points on the bank, water comes out of smaller springs lined with alder trees . There are also large areas with giant horsetail .

Camping sites, bathing areas and jetties are interspersed on the western shore of the lake. The east bank is largely natural and in the section between Rothenhusen and Kalkhütte has been designated as a nature reserve " East bank of the Great Ratzeburg Lake ". In autumn and winter the lake serves as a resting area for the coot and tufted duck. Bittern , marsh harrier , warbler and reed warbler are breeding species on the lake, which are listed on the Red List.

Fish stocks

The Ratzeburger See is known for the great vendace that occurs there, an edible fish that belongs to the salmonids .

Water quality

Two sewage treatment plants (of the city of Ratzeburg and the office of Lauenburgische Seen) discharge their treated wastewater into the Ratzeburg lake. The catchment area is characterized by agricultural land. The Great Ratzeburger See has trophy level meso- to eutrophic 1. The deep water shows an oxygen deficit.

The state of Schleswig-Holstein issued a bathing warning for Lake Ratzeburg in 2010 because of the infestation with cercaria . Cercariae are sucking worm larvae that can cause allergic skin reactions known as bathing dermatitis in humans . Bathers are informed in a brochure. Among other things, it refers to the danger of feeding water birds, which are intermediate hosts for the suction worm larvae.

history

The inner German border ran through the lake and it was used by motor boats as an operational border lock for GDR agents.

See also

• List of lakes in Schleswig-Holstein
• List of bodies of water in Schleswig-Holstein

literature

• Herbert Höpfner: The Ratzeburg Lake . Damaschke, Büchen 1977.

Web links

Commons : Ratzeburger See  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Ratzeburg Lake  - Travel Guide

• Nixdorf / Hemm / Hoffmann / Richter: Documentation of the condition and development of the most important lakes in Germany , 1: a delen: Schleswig-Holstein (PDF)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Characteristic data , accessed on January 21, 2012
2. ↑ ^{a b} Nixdorf, B .; Hemm, A .; Hoffmann, A .; Richter, P .: Documentation of the condition and development of the most important lakes in Germany . Part 1. Schleswig-Holstein . UBA research report 29924274. Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus, 2004 ( PDF file; 2.1 MB )
3. ↑ [1]
4. ^ Bathing warning city of Ratzeburg
5. ↑ Brochure cercaria