Melchsee
| Melchsee | ||
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| Melchsee in the canton of Obwalden | ||
| Geographical location | Central Switzerland | |
| Tributaries | several streams | |
| Drain | Big Melchaa | |
| Places on the shore | Melchsee-Frutt | |
| Data | ||
| Coordinates | 663 689 / 180485 | |
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| Altitude above sea level | 1891 m above sea level M. | |
| surface | 54 ha | |
| Maximum depth | 18 m | |
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particularities |
Natural reservoir, fishing |
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The Melchsee is a mountain lake and namesake of the small winter sports resort Melchsee-Frutt in the canton of Obwalden in the municipality of Kerns . It lies at 1891 m above sea level. M. and is dammed by an artificial dam. A pressure pipe carries the water from Melchsee to the Hugschwendi power plant on Stöckalp in the Melchtal , which is operated by the Obwalden electricity company and produces 35 GWh of electricity annually.
Trout and char are fished in the lake in summer . In winter, ice fishing is offered on the frozen lake . A rope lift pulls winter sports enthusiasts across the lake to the ski lifts on the other bank.
Construction of the power plant
In 1951, project plans for the use of hydropower on the Melchsee-Frutt were sent to the government council of the canton of Obwalden. At that time, the Kerns power station, from which the Obwalden power station later emerged, was only able to cover 20% of the canton's energy needs. After political negotiations and legal clarifications regarding the use of water and the type of company of the power plant operator, the Obwalden population approved the Melchsee-Frutt power plant project in 1955. The loan applied for by the Cantonal Council was 17 million Swiss francs. As part of the project, among other things, the Henglibach and Tannalp streams were drawn, an earth dam was built at Tannensee and Melchsee, a supply line from the Blauseebach was built, an apparatus chamber was built, a pressure line was built and the Hugschwendi power plant center was built. The construction of the dam increased the surface area of the Melchsee from 200,000 m² to 540,000 m².
