Fortunabad, Natural swimming pool in Knautkleeberg, Leipzig, Germany
Fortunabad is a former open-air swimming pool in the Knautkleeberg district of Leipzig, now used as a fishing water. Its total water area of 25,370 square metres is divided into three sections, each 140 to 200 metres long and separated by dams, with an average depth of 1.5 metres. The water is fed from the Elstermühlgraben via the Fortunabadgraben and drains into the same channel through the Windorfer Augraben. The site lies in floodplain forest between the White Elster and the Knauthainer Elstermühlgraben.
The site began in 1890 as a clay pit for brick making. In 1920 the ground was converted into a swimming area and became an important local recreation zone.
The name Fortunabad comes from the bath itself, opened on 20 August 1920 by the community of Knautkleeberg; the sources record no Fortuna family. From 1923 it was run as a GmbH with around 50 shareholders, mostly clubs that took on duties at the bath. Today anglers use the water for eel, pike, carp, tench, catfish, whitefish and zander.
Fortunabad is no longer a bathing site: the water is leased to the German Anglers' Association and used for fishing, so swimming is not permitted. The three basins lie in the floodplain forest east of Knautkleeberg, between the White Elster and the Knauthainer Elstermühlgraben. Anglers should note the average depth of 1.5 metres and the inflow via the Fortunabadgraben.
The three water bodies are separated by dams and fed by the Fortunabadgraben from the Elstermühlgraben, draining via the Windorfer Augraben. Anglers today mainly catch eel, pike, carp, tench, catfish, whitefish and zander.
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