Itzenplitz local recreation area
The Saarland local recreation area Itzenplitz (also local recreation area Itzenplitz-Heiligenwald ) is grouped around the Itzenplitzer Weiher and is located southwest of the Heiligenwald district of Schiffweiler . In total, the area is 7 km² and lies in the area of the three communities Merchweiler , Friedrichsthal and Schiffweiler.
The Itzenplitz local recreation area is named after the Itzenplitz pond, measuring just 50 × 500 meters, with its historic pump house built in 1908, which today serves as an eye-catcher for visitors and forms the heart of the local recreation area. The Itzenplitzer Weiher is the largest lake in the Neunkirchen district .
Emergence
For decades this area was an industrial area. To feed the steam engines and as a water reservoir for the pits, this pond was created in 1878/79, which dammed the water of the Kallenbach and Klinkenbach in the Rußhüttertal. Pump water from the pits was also fed into the Itzenplitzer Weiher.
The name comes from the Prussian statesman Heinrich Friedrich von Itzenplitz , who made a special contribution to the accelerated introduction of the railway in Prussia and to whom a number of pits, tunnels and other ancillary structures were dedicated or named after him in this environment at that time Itzenplitz mine .
Todays use
The Itzenplitzer Weiher has not been used for mining since the late 1980s. Even the industrial area south of Heiligenwald was in the 90s converted and offers various traders surfaces for corresponding structure. The lake with its forest on three sides has become an attractive destination for those looking for relaxation and is used extensively by runners, hikers and anglers. In the mixed forest landscape there are also several ponds that can be reached via well-developed circular hiking trails. A total of around 53 kilometers of routes is available.
The body responsible for this area is the "Itzenplitz local recreation area association", which dates back to 1973 at the suggestion of the Heiligenwald citizen Werner Altmeier. His idea of turning the region, which is characterized by the coal and steel industry, into a recreational and adventure landscape close to the settlement was thus achieved.
Coordinates: 49 ° 20 '58 " N , 7 ° 5' 38" E