Kleiner Okerteich
The Kleiner Okerteich is a small reservoir near Clausthal-Zellerfeld with a water surface of about 0.4 hectares, surrounded by forests and situated at roughly 531 meters elevation. The dam holding back the water is approximately 11 meters high and was built around 1804.
The reservoir was created around 1700 by miners to ensure a steady water supply for mining operations when river flow alone became insufficient. In the 1920s it was transformed into a public swimming area, but a flood in 1953 severely damaged the facilities, after which local groups rebuilt and restored the site.
The name comes from the Kleine Oker river that feeds it, a waterway central to the region's mining heritage. Today it serves as a gathering place where locals and visitors swim, walk, and spend leisure time in a natural setting.
The site is free to visit and has small changing rooms, toilets, and a snack stand offering drinks and light snacks. Keep in mind there is no supervised swimming area, you swim at your own risk, and the changing rooms are only open during favorable weather.
Every August the site is lit for the Lichterfest with over one thousand candles, whose glow reflects on the water and draws thousands of visitors. This annual festival shows how deeply the local community is connected to this place.
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