The Franconian Lake District lies south-west of

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

in northern

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It was created as a result of one of Germany's largest water-management projects and was completed by the flooding of the

Großer Brombachsee Großer Brombachsee is a reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created ...

(" Great Brombach Lake") in 2000. The lakes of Altmühlsee, Brombachsee,

Rothsee __NOTOC__ The Rotsee (previously known as Rootsee) is a natural rowing lake on the northern edge of Lucerne, Switzerland. It is regarded as one of the best rowing venues in the world. Description and location The lake and its surrounding area is ...

, Dennenloher See and Hahnenkammsee together form a lake district which is equal in size and infrastructure to the Upper Bavarian Lake District: the Altmühlsee, for example, is the same size as the

Königssee The Königssee is a natural lake in the extreme southeast Berchtesgadener Land district of the German state of Bavaria, near the Austrian border. Most of the lake is within the Berchtesgaden National Park. Description Situated within the Berch ...

, and the Große Brombachsee has the same area as the

Tegernsee Tegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Lake Tegernsee, which is 747 m (2,451 ft) above sea level. A spa town, it is surrounded by an alpine landscape of Upper Bavaria, and has an ...

. The biggest lake in the district is the Brombach Lake. The Great Brombach Lake is a storage reservoir, about 12.7

square kilometres Square kilometre ( International spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures) or square kilometer (American spelling), symbol km2, is a multiple of the square metre, the SI unit of area or surface area. 1 km2 is e ...

, in area. With about 17.5 kilometres of shoreline, it is bigger than the Tegernsee and it reaches a maximum depth of about 32 metres. The picturesque Little Brombach Lake is located in the Brombach and Igelsbach valley. Approximately 2.5 square kilometres in size, the lake is used for swimming, surfing, sailing, fishing, and boating. Europe's largest trimaran passenger ship, the MS ''Brombachsee'', crosses the lake daily as part of a regular service. The shoreline is unspoiled and there are cycle paths and

hiking trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...

around the lake. The Altmühlsee, situated in the broad valley of the Altmühl, nestles between little villages and meadows. It was created as the first lake in the lake district and has a length of 4 km and an area of roughly 4.5 km². There is a boat, the ''

Gunzenhausen Gunzenhausen (; bar, Gunzenhausn, link=no) is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, northwest of Weißenburg in Bayern, and southwest of Nuremberg. Gunzenhausen is a nation ...

'', which provides passenger services across the lake. The Rothsee, which is 2.2 km² in area, is divided into an economic area and a swimming area. Surfing and sailing is possible on most of the lake. In its northwestern corner is an extensive

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, or features of geological or ...

. The Rothsee has three recreational areas.

Lakes

The Lake District comprises 7 lakes and several streams. The total expanse of water is about 20 km². *

, 8.7 km² * Altmühlsee, 4.5 km² *

Kleiner Brombachsee Kleiner ( he, קליינר) is a German and Jewish surname, meaning "smaller": * Alfred Kleiner, Swiss physicist * Bruce Kleiner, American mathematician * Krista Arrieta Kleiner, Filipino-American TV actress/singer and host * Dick Kleiner, Ho ...

, 2.5 km² * Rothsee, 2.2 km² * Igelsbachsee, 0.9 km² * Hahnenkammsee, 0.23 km² *

Dennenloher See Dennenloher See is a lake in Ansbach, Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous membe ...

, 0.22 km²

External links

English Travel Info English Site of the Spalt
{{Authority control Regions of Bavaria Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen Roth (district) Ansbach (district)