Igelsee (Wandlitz)

Igelsee
View of the silted area in the southeast of the lake
Geographical location	Central Europe , Germany , Wandlitz
Tributaries	none
Drain	Ditch to the ´ Wandlitzer See
Places on the shore	Wandlitzsee settlement area in Wandlitz
Data
Coordinates	52 ° 45 '48.8 "  N , 13 ° 27' 41.7"  E Coordinates: 52 ° 45 '48.8 "  N , 13 ° 27' 41.7"  E
Altitude above sea level	50  m
surface	0.5 ha
length	75 m
width	70 m
Maximum depth	not known

The Igelsee is located in the municipality of Wandlitz . It is part of the Biesenthal-Wandlitz-Prendener lake area , which includes around 30 large and small lakes. The lake became famous for a mud bathing facility planned on its banks in the 1920s.

Geography and location

Igelsee on a map from 1774, outlined in blue

The ground moraine lake , a relic of the Vistula Ice Age , formed together with the Wandlitzer See and the Stolzenhagener See . After evaluating aerial photographs and studying old land maps, it was very likely larger in previous centuries, estimated at around 300 meters by 150 meters. Today its water surface has decreased to around 70 by 75 meters. Its siltation continues steadily, so that it is now actually more of a groundwater accumulation for the swamp area in the Heger Heide between the two lakes. Thälmannstraße runs south, not directly on the lake, but a short distance from its banks, Am Moorbad road to the east, the Seebadkorso to the west and Fontaneallee to the north.

Bank areas and surroundings

On the lakeshore there are communities of pines, beeches and alders as well as rushes , reeds and cattails . This relatively impenetrable vegetation forms the basis of life for insects , butterflies and songbirds, as well as water birds and amphibians .

history

The former village of Wandlitz developed into a popular excursion area for Berliners in the early 20th century due to the newly opened Groß-Schönebeck – Berlin-Wilhelmsruh railway line (" Heidekrautbahn ") . The plan was to transform it into a health resort. For this purpose, a mud bath should be built on the bank of the small lake. This development was reflected in the street name Am Moorbad, which was given at the time and which has been preserved. The building files recorded in the Barnim archive show the name of the lake in 1914 and in connection with the Illvera association in 1923. In 1929, a terrestrial company based in what was then the “Illvera” hunting lodge on the seaside parade at Lake Wandlitzer ( Treuhand Ankaufs GmbH ) was looking for buyers for building land around the Igelsee. With the purchase, the buyer should also receive a piece of the Wandlitzer See for free use. (Here in a north-eastern bay the real estate company had built a bathing establishment with two forty-meter-long jetties and a boat rental facility.)

Then some buyers were found who, however, could not build directly on the Igelsee. The lake and its shoreline remained free from any development, and the planned mud bath did not come about. The area was soon left to nature and the lake almost completely disappeared from the consciousness of the Wandlitzer. Today the Igelsee is heavily silted up and no longer has any recognizable public access.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: Igelsee in the finding aid: Building files KI Wandlitz 11924, KI 6934, KIB 12165, KIB 11984 (pdf; 2.9 MB) <enter "Igelsee" in the search window>, accessed on November 7th 2012, no longer accessible in 2016.
2. ↑ 10 years “Illvera eV” in: heidekrautjournal.de, August 13, 2006; Retrieved November 7, 2012