__NOTOC__ The Weinfelder Maar, also called the Totenmaar, is a

maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...

around two kilometres southeast of the town of

Daun Daun () is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the ' of Daun. Geography Location The town lies in the , a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geog ...

in the

Eifel The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

Mountains, in the German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

Geography

The maar lake was formed about 10,500 years ago by a volcanic steam explosion and is around 525 metres long, 375 metres wide and 51 metres deep. It has a surface area of about 16.8

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...

s. The maar lies at a height of . The embankment surrounding the lake is made from

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

and is higher in the west and south than in the north and east. Along the course of this bank is the ''Mäuseberg'' (561.2 m) and the ''Maarkreuz'' (534.5 m). The lake region is now a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

and bathing in the lake is forbidden.eifelreise.de
Weinfelder Maar
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Name

The description "Totenmaar" ("maar of the dead") comes from the cemetery in the immediate vicinity of the maar with its little chapel, parts of which date to the 14th century. This was the old parish church of Weinfeld. The village was abandoned in the 16th century (it was last mentioned in 1512) in the wake of the Plague. The chapel and attached cemetery are used today for burials by the municipality of

Schalkenmehren Schalkenmehren is an ''Ortsgemeinde (Germany), Ortsgemeinde'' – a Municipalities of Germany, municipality belonging to a ''Verbandsgemeinde'', a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel Districts of Germany, district in Rhineland ...

. In the entrance way of the chapel are numerous ''Dank-Tafeln'', plaques with inscriptions such as " aintMary has helped".

Legends

There are several legends associated with the tranquil Totenmaar. According to one, a castle once stood on this spot in which a benevolent count lived with his servants, his hard-hearted wife and his only child. One day, the count returned home from the hunt and found only a lake in the place where his castle had stood. It was buried in the ground with all its inhabitants and had left behind a lake, the Totenmaar. Miraculously a cradle appeared on the surface, in which his child drifted safely to shore. The count's horse scraped a spring from the ground at the behest of his master. Later, out of gratitude for the salvation of his child, the count built a chapel, which is still preserved along with the spring.

Gallery

Weinfelder-Maar-Sommer-2010.jpg, In summer Kapelle am Weinfelder Maar.jpg, The chapel by the maar Totenmaar2.jpg, View from the cemetery KapelleFriedhofWeinfeld.jpg, Weinfeld church and view of the cemetery TotenmaarEifel.JPG, In late summer Weinfeldermaar.jpg, In early summer Weinfelder Kirche C S Langbein HStaS J 317 Nr 6 Bild 5.jpg, Between 1895 and 1904

References

Literature

* Werner P. d´Hein: ''Nationaler Geopark Vulkanland Eifel. Ein Natur- und Kulturführer.'' Gaasterland-Verlag, Düsseldorf, 2006,

External links

{{Commons category Maars of the Eifel Nature reserves in Rhineland-Palatinate Lakes of Rhineland-Palatinate Vulkaneifel