Griebnitzsee (, from the Slavic ''Grib'', ''Mushroom'') is a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

at the south-western outskirts of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, the capital city of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. At an elevation of 29.4 m, its surface area is ca. 0.592 km². The lake forms the border between the German states of Berlin and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. It is bordered in the north by the

Wannsee Wannsee () is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger '' Großer Wannsee'' (Greater Wannsee) and the '' Kleiner Wannse ...

district of Berlin, and in the south and west by the Babelsberg district of

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

in Brandenburg.

Overview

At its eastern end, near Kohlhasenbrück in Berlin, the Griebnitzsee receives water from the Teltow Canal. One third of this water flows into the adjacent Griebnitz Canal and through a chain of lakes towards the Großer Wannsee. The remaining water flows through the Griebnitzsee to its western end, where it flows into the River Havel near Potsdam. The length of the Griebnitzsee is navigable, and forms part of the Teltow Canal route, which links the River Havel with the River Spree and the Oder-Spree Canal, bypassing the reach of the River Spree through central Berlin. The navigable Griebnitz Canal provides an alternative link from the Griebnitzsee to the River Havel via the Großer Wannsee. During the time of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

, the border between Berlin and

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

ran down the middle of the lake. A patrol path existed for border guards along the southern and western shore. After German reunification, this path became a public lakeside promenade. In 2009, however, many new owners of lakeside properties began blocking public access by fencing off their properties down to the water's edge.Der Spiegel, May 2009
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References

External links

* Lakes of Brandenburg Lakes of Berlin Geography of Potsdam Steglitz-Zehlendorf LGriebnitzsee {{Brandenburg-geo-stub