Lake Kaltern

Lake Kaltern
	Caldaro, of Altenburg from
Geographical location	South-Tirol
Location close to the shore	Kaltern , Tramin
	Data
Coordinates	46 ° 22 '45 " N , 11 ° 15' 51" E Coordinates: 46 ° 22 '45 " N , 11 ° 15' 51" E
Altitude above sea level	215 m slm
surface	1.47 km²
volume	6,000,000 m³
Maximum depth	5.6 m
Middle deep	4 m

The Kalterer See ( Italian Lago di Caldaro ) is a lake in the Überetsch in South Tyrol ( Italy ).

The lake is 1.8 km long, 0.9 km wide and 5.6 m deep at the deepest point. The area is 1.47 km ² . It is located at an altitude of 215 m slm in a depression formed by an old river bed of the Adige , in the municipality of Kaltern about 14 km south of the city of Bolzano . On the west side, the gentle slopes of the St. Josef am See fraction of Kaltern offer space before the terrain climbs steeply to the Mendelkamm . To the east is the small village of Klughammer , which belongs to the Pfatten community and is directly overlooked by the Mitterberg .

The Kalterer See is one of the largest lakes in South Tyrol (which, however, has a rather poor number of lakes) and is - with the Klopeiner See - the warmest bathing lake in the Alps . The water temperature in summer is up to 28 ° C, the bathing season is from May to September.

Mainly the east and west banks are developed for tourism, the south bank is reed. In addition to swimming, other sports include rowing and pedal boats as well as sailing and windsurfing. The latter benefit from the prevailing mountain and valley wind circulation and the ora that occurs in the afternoon . Motor boats are not permitted. There is also a signposted and easily accessible circular hiking trail around the lake.

Fish fauna

Lake Kaltern is managed by the Caldaro Fishing Association ( Associazione pesca di Caldaro ). The warm and very nutrient-rich water offers ideal living conditions for numerous fish species. In Lake Kaltern, carp as well as grass carp , silver carp , marble carp , tench , roach , rudd , crucian carp and bream can be found. The main predatory fish are the heat-loving species such as largemouth bass and sunfish as well as pike , pikeperch and eel .

history

It is a young lake that was created as a dead lake after the last ice age and its age can therefore be estimated at 12,000 years. Even before the Würm Ice Age , the Etsch flowed south through the Lavason Valley and the area of today's lake. Originally, the water surface of the lake was larger by the extent of the reed belt and silted up over time.

The lake was mentioned as lacus Caldari in the letter of Vigilius (approx. 10th century) . Heavy rainfall led to the surrounding area being flooded and therefore the decision was made as early as 1242 to build an artificial drainage ditch, which flowed into the Adige near Vill ( Neumarkt ). Decades later the estuary was moved further south, as the Adige water poured into the lake when it was backlogged. This solution has not yet proven to be optimal as there was still too little gradient. After a major flood, under the reign of Empress Maria Theresa , a decision was made to build a large drainage ditch 5 m wide and around 20 km long, which only flowed into the Adige at San Michele . The point on the Adige River closest to the lake is 6 m higher than the lake level. The last ditch built still exists as the “Großer Graben”, the earlier ditch can still be seen (“Alter Graben”).

There is evidence of an inn near Klughammer as early as 1600. In 1978 the reed belt was placed under protection as it is an important resting place for migratory birds, a popular nesting place for birds and a location for rare marsh plants. In 1979 a circular sewer system was put into operation. A mud cat (device for desludging the soil) and a reed mower were also bought to maintain the lake.

There is geological evidence that a long time ago there was a lake on the southern Mitterberg, the level of which was several dozen meters higher than that of today's lake.

Myths and legends

Where the Lake Kaltern is located, there was once a city whose inhabitants were malicious and merciless. Only one house was occupied by a good-natured family. This is exactly where Christ stopped when he was traveling with his disciples to ask for bread and water. But because of his poverty, the old man could only offer him water. So Peter went into town to ask for food, but returned empty-handed, as none of the townspeople were willing to share the bread with him. Angry about this, Christ spilled the water, which turned into a raging stream, flooded the city and created the lake in which the good-hearted man could fish from now on and became rich.

Viticulture

The lake is the namesake for the wine from the Vernatsch grape grown in the area . The wines with the designation Kalterer See , Kalterersee or Kalterer ( Italian Lago di Caldaro or Caldaro ) have had a "controlled designation of origin " (Denominazione di origine controllata - DOC ) since 1970 , which was last updated on March 7, 2014. The wines are made from the Vernatsch varieties Großvernatsch or Kleinvernatsch and Grauvernatsch. A maximum of 15% other analogue grape varieties that are approved for cultivation in South Tyrol or in neighboring Trentino may be added. The wine may be produced in South Tyrol in the communities of Kaltern, Appiano , Kurtatsch , Margreid , Tramin and Pfatten and in Trentino in the communities of Roverè della Luna and Mezzocorona . In 2017, 29,000 hectoliters of DOC wine were produced from 323 hectares of vineyards .

Regular events

The Lake Caldaro Triathlon has been held here every May since 1989 . In this competition over the Olympic distance, the participating athletes have to complete 1.5 km swimming, 40 km cycling and 10 km running.

literature

Gerhard Endriß: From fruit and wine growing in South Tyrol and especially on Lake Kaltern. In: Mitteilungen der Geographische Gesellschaft in München 53, 1968, pp. 109–121.
Karl F. Zani: On the history of the Kalterer-See-Graben. In: Der Schlern 56, 1982.
Bruno Mahlknecht: Kaltern and the surrounding area. Publishing house Athesia, Bolzano 1979.
Working group of South Tyrolean secondary school teachers: Natural history hikes 3rd Athesia, Bozen 1990.
Ivo Maran, Stefan Morandell: Vernatscher, Traminer, Kalterersee wine. News from South Tyrol's wine history (= writings on wine history. 188). Society for the History of Wine, Wiesbaden 2015.