Rappbode Dam, Dam in Harz District, Germany
The Rappbode Dam is a concrete gravity structure in Harz District, Saxony-Anhalt, whose massive wall holds back a long reservoir winding through forested valleys. The water stretches upstream for several kilometers between wooded slopes that rise gently on both sides.
Work on the dam started in the nineteen-forties, then stopped during wartime and resumed only after the conflict ended. The project reached completion in the late nineteen-fifties under a different government administration.
The name comes from the Rappbode River, which flows down from the Harz highlands before entering the reservoir. Local visitors walk along the paved paths on the dam crest and pause to look down at the water surface far below.
Country roads connect the site to nearby towns such as Thale and Rübeland, with parking areas located close to the structure. Walking paths lead up to the crest, where you can look out over the reservoir and forested slopes beyond.
A long suspension footbridge spans the wall, linking both valley sides high above the water surface. Alongside runs a double zipline that carries riders across the gorge at high speed and ranks among the longest such installations on the continent.
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