Gleinkersee, Mountain lake in Spital am Pyhrn, Austria

Gleinkersee is a mountain lake near Spital am Pyhrn in Upper Austria, set among meadows and forest. The water is relatively warm for a lake at this altitude and is home to fish such as pike and trout.

From 1125 Gleinkersee belonged to Gleink Abbey near Steyr, 64 km away. In 1589 the abbey leased the lake to Spital am Pyhrn Abbey for 200 guilders, and in 1608 ceded it permanently for another 200 guilders. A folk tale tells of monastery treasure sunk in the lake during the French wars.

The lake's name comes from Gleink Abbey near Steyr, which owned it from 1125; in 1589 the distant abbey leased it to Spital am Pyhrn Abbey for 200 guilders, and in 1608 ceded it outright for another 200. A folk tale tells of monastery clergy sinking a barrel of gold into the 120 m sinkhole during the French wars, then finding the bottom unreachable when they returned for it.

Wooden jetties lead to the water and boat rentals are available on site. There is parking and a campsite directly at the lake, which makes it easy to stay for more than a day.

The lake's deepest point is a 120-metre karst shaft, far deeper than the 24.5-metre maximum recorded elsewhere in the basin. A folk tale links this shaft to the War of the Second Coalition: monks of Spital am Pyhrn are said to have sunk a barrel of gold into the lake, then found the bottom unreachable where they had lowered it.