Weißer See, Lake in Weißensee, Berlin, Germany

Weißer See is a lake in Pankow that stretches roughly 350 meters from north to south and about 305 meters from east to west. The water reaches depths of around 10 meters and is bordered by restaurants and recreational areas along its shore.

The lake lies in a hollow left by a block of dead ice from the Weichsel glaciation. Settlements around it, mainly agricultural, date from the 13th century; the lake was called Großer See during the 14th century. In 1912 the Strandbad Weißensee opened as a remnant of the Sterneckersches Etablissement, whose castle burned down in 1919.

The Milchhäuschen on the west bank, a café well known in GDR times, was rebuilt in 1967 to replace a half-timbered predecessor demolished in 1965. In summer 2025 the operator and concept changed, and the building now houses the Greek restaurant Ormos by Milchhäuschen, with a terrace facing the water.

The 21-hectare park surrounds the lake, with the Strandbad bathing beach on the east shore and the Ormos by Milchhäuschen restaurant on the west. The water level is held steady by the Berlin water authority, and in dry spells water is pumped in from a nearby spring beneath the observation platform. The floating fountain has been out of service since autumn 2025.

The floating fountain, run with the help of the Junge Tauchpioniere Berlin diving club, was installed in 1969 and became a landmark of Weissensee; its main nozzle throws water up to 23 metres high. It also aerates the lake. A replacement was built in 2009, and since autumn 2025 it has been out of service pending checks of the pumps.