Weißensee (lake in Carinthia)

Weissensee
	The eastern basin of the Weißensee seen from a paraglider
Geographical location	north of Hermagor
Tributaries	Mühlbach, Almbach
Drain	Weißenbach to the Drau
Places on the shore	Neusach, Techendorf, Oberdorf and Gatschach in the north, Naggl in the south (each municipality of ; Weißensee ), Stockenboi in the east
	Data
Coordinates	46 ° 42 ′ N , 13 ° 20 ′ E Coordinates: 46 ° 42 ′ N , 13 ° 20 ′ E
Altitude above sea level	930 m above sea level A.
surface	6.5 km²
length	11.6 km
width	900 m
volume	0,226,098,549 km³
Maximum depth	99 m
Middle deep	35 m
particularities	Highest bathing lake in Carinthia
	Overview map of Weißensee

The Weißensee is a lake in Carinthia at the foot of the Gailtal Alps north of Hermagor . It is 930 m above sea level. A. and is therefore the highest of the large Carinthian bathing lakes. By far the largest part of the lake belongs to the municipality of Weißensee , the short eastern shore to the municipality of Stockenboi .

General

The Weißensee is 11.6 kilometers long; at its widest point it measures 900 meters, at its deepest 99 meters. Its area is 6.5 square kilometers and its catchment area is 46 square kilometers. Only one third of its 23-kilometer-long bank is built up (western part of the lake and the local lake on the eastern bank), the rest is under nature and landscape protection.

There is no through road along the lakeshore, only a narrow, sometimes steep path connects the Ronacherfels (eastern end of the road) with the eastern bank, which is otherwise only accessible through the Weißenbachtal from the Drautal side.

geology

The valley of the white lake runs east-west direction and was during the Würm by a branch of Draugletschers carved out. The western basin and the middle part of the lake are flat and surrounded by swamp meadows, while the eastern basin is bordered in the north and south by steep rocks that continue under water. This area of the lake has a fjord-like character. The lake chalk banks framing the lake, which gave the Weissensee its name, were created by lime particles washed in from the surrounding mountains of the southern Limestone Alps, by remains of snail shells and by biogenic decalcification . The lake has two permanent water-bearing tributaries, the Praditzbach at the west end and the Mühlbach near Neusach, and is also fed by several underground springs. On the east bank is the outflow of the lake, the Weißenbach , which drains the Weißensee towards the Drau .

ecology

Due to its excellent water quality (since 1969, a circular sewer system has prevented the discharge of domestic sewage), the lake is considered a good fishing water. With visibility depths of up to 6 meters and a water quality that approaches that of drinking water , it is an ideal bathing water with a water temperature of up to 24 ° C. In order to maintain the water quality, the use of internal combustion engines (exclusively liner shipping, police , water rescue, agriculture and forestry) is not permitted on the lake .

The Weißensee has been known for its lake trout since the Middle Ages ; in modern times, artificial stocking with other fish species such as perch , carp or pike has increased its attractiveness as a fishing water. However, due to the pressure of competition, some original species such as gudgeon or minnow died out. The extinction of the lake trout was prevented by restocking measures - not least to preserve the tourist attraction of the lake.

tourism

The lake is surrounded by a network of hiking and mountain bike trails of all levels of difficulty several hundred kilometers long . Some mountain peaks (Latschur in the north, Golz in the south, Reisskofel in the west) can be reached from the lake via managed alpine pastures and huts. Camping is possible on the east bank near Stockenboi and on the west bank in Techendorf and Oberdorf.

The Weißensee Bridge connects the north and south banks at the narrowest part of the lake and is at the same time a vantage point on the western and eastern parts of the lake.

In winter, with an ice sheet up to 58 centimeters thick, between December and March, on around 80 days, the lake offers the largest ice surface in the Alps, which has been used for tourism since the late 1960s. Since 1989, ice skating marathons have been held on the natural ice rink in January , an alternative Eleven City Tour of the Dutch, where the climatic conditions no longer allow such an event on their canals every year. The ice cover on the Weissensee, on the other hand, is often so strong that timber can be transported across the lake by truck . The Elfstedentocht therefore had here since the beginning of 2020 even once the weather be canceled and the contract could be extended in 2006 with the Dutch organizers to 100 years.

At Techendorf on the south bank of the lake there is a small ski area with a chair lift and some ski slopes; Cross-country trails are groomed around the lake.

Passenger shipping

In September / October 2014 the 225-person ship Alpenperle was driven from the Lux shipyard near Bonn over the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal to just before Passau . From here it rolled as a special transport via the A 21 near Vienna and finally over the campsite on the lake. The Alpenperle is Austria's first (diesel) electric hybrid ship. It will charge its batteries at night, has a Schottel rudder propeller at the rear and a 360 ° Schottel PumpJet at the front, is barrier-free and will replace the MS Poto from 1925 (80 people). Of the € 1.4 million acquisition costs, the transport accounts for around € 100,000.

Events

For the film Immer die Radfahrer from 1958 with Heinz Erhardt and Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff , several scenes were filmed at and around the Weißensee.
In 1986 scenes from the film James Bond 007 - The Living Daylights were shot on the frozen Weissensee.
From February 23 to 25, 2007 the first ice hockey under ice world championship took place in Weißensee . On January 7th and 8th, 2011, as part of the “Weissensee Fly-in 2011” run by the Austrian Mountain Pilots Association, around 30 aircraft landed on the frozen Weissensee.