Schluchsee, Reservoir in Black Forest, Germany
Schluchsee is a reservoir in the southern Black Forest at 930 metres above sea level, 7.3 kilometres long and 1.4 kilometres wide, with a maximum depth of 61 metres. Its 63.5-metre concrete gravity dam holds back the Schwarza, and the shoreline is bordered by dark coniferous forest that rises into low hills.
Engineers transformed a natural glacial lake into a reservoir between 1929 and 1932 by building a dam more than 63 meters high. The construction flooded several old villages and farms that had previously stood along the shore.
A dugout canoe found during the 1930 blasting of a tunnel for the dam shows the lake was already being navigated around the year 650. The boat is now kept in the Archaeological State Museum in Konstanz-Petershausen. In 1982 the German national football team trained by the lake before the World Cup, and players' excesses earned it the nickname "Schlucksee".
A pathway of roughly 18 kilometers circles the shore and connects different spots where you can enter the water or rent a boat. The loop can also be walked in shorter sections, as several bus stops lie along the route.
When the water level drops for maintenance work, foundations of houses and old roads appear that were once flooded. These rare moments offer insight into the landscape before the flooding.
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