The Bostalsee 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 in a number of ways, including control ...

in the municipality of

Nohfelden Nohfelden is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated approximately north of Sankt Wendel, and southwest of Idar-Oberstein. It was formed during administrative reform in January 1974 from the merger o ...

in the northern

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and t ...

. It was created in 1979. The dam has a length of 500 metres. The lake is almost exclusively used for recreation. The hydropower from the stored water has been used since the end of 2013 to a small extent to generate electricity, especially to light the circular walk around the lake in winter. The southwestern part of the lake has been designated as a nature reserve.

Construction

This major tourist project was initiated in the early 1970s by the head of the county council of St. Wendel,

Werner Zeyer Werner Zeyer (25 May 1929 – 26 March 2000) was a German politician ( CDU) who served as Minister-President of Saarland from 1979 to 1985. References External links * 1929 births 2000 deaths People from Sankt Wendel (district) ...

, who later became the

minister president A minister-president or minister president is the head of government in a number of European countries or subnational governments with a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government where they preside over the council of ministers. It ...

of the Saarland. The long term aim was to strengthen the tourist infrastructure in the county of St. Wendel in order to raise the number of tourists. In addition, the new waterbody was intended to extend the local recreation facilities and improve the ecology.

Basic data

The lake has a surface area of 120 ha (1.2 km²), a volume of 8 million m³ and maximum depth of 18 metres. It lies at a height of about within the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park near . It is thus the largest artificial body of water used for recreation in southwest Germany. The lakeside villages are Bosen, Eckelhausen, Gonnesweiler and Neunkirchen/Nahe, and the Bostalsee Leisure Centre is run by the county. The dam impounds the waters of the

Bos ''Bos'' (from Latin '' bōs'': cow, ox, bull) is the genus of wild and domestic cattle. ''Bos'' is often divided into four subgenera: ''Bos'', ''Bibos'', ''Novibos'', and ''Poephagus'', but including these last three divisions within the gen ...

and the Dämelbach.

Gallery

Kornbrust Liebeskanzel.JPG,

Leo Kornbrust Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * '' Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts a ...

: ''Liebesthron'' on the circular walk Bostalsee 2010Requiem-für-die-Juden Seliger.JPG, Stone sculpture on the circular walk ''Requiem für die Juden'' by

Shlomo Selinger Shelomo Selinger (born May 31, 1928) is a sculptor and artist living and working in Paris since 1956. Biography Selinger was born to a Jewish family in the small Polish town of Szczakowa (today part of Jaworzno) near Oświęcim (Auschwitz'' Le P ...

BostalseeSolarkat.jpg, Former solar-powered catamaran (meanwhile there is a smaller passenger boat on the Bostalsee) Bostalsee.JPG, Beach on the Bostalsee Bostalsee_Dämmerung.jpg, Dusk at the Bostalsee, 2008 Bostalsee.jpg, The Bostalsee seen from the north Bostalsee 3.JPG, Northwestern shore and sailing boat base Bostalsee 7 2011-10 Wohnblock.JPG, House in the holiday park Bostalsee 2.jpg, View of the lake 20150524 Blick ins NSG Bostalsee IMG 4685 by sebaso.jpg, View of the nature reserve

Literature

Literatur zum Bostalsee in der SULB

Annotations

External links

Freizeitzentrum Bostalsee und Tourist-Information Sankt Wendeler Land

Dokumentation von Zustand und Entwicklung der wichtigsten Seen Deutschlands der TU Cottbus, Teil 9: Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz und Saarland
(PDF-Datei; 562 kB) {{Authority control Reservoirs in Saarland Nature reserves in Germany Dams in Saarland Naheland RBostalsee 1970s architecture Sankt Wendel (district)