Ruppiner See 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 ...

Ostprignitz-Ruppin Ostprignitz-Ruppin is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the northwestern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from north clockwise) the districts Müritz and Mecklenburg-Strelitz (district), Mecklenburg-Strelitz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, ...

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 ...

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 , its surface area is . It is believed to have formed as a glacial tunnel valley.

History

A Slavic fortification stood at the mouth of the

Rhin The Rhin is a long river in Brandenburg, Germany, right tributary to the river Havel. It flows through the city Neuruppin and several lakes. A few kilometres downstream from Rhinow it flows into the Havel, about upstream from where the Have ...

on the northern shore. In the 12th century, the German settlement of Ruppin (now called Altruppin) was established next to it. A few decades later,

Neuruppin Neuruppin (, , in contrast to ":de:Alt Ruppin, Old Ruppin"; ; North Brandenburgisch dialect, Brandenburgisch: ''Reppin'') is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Ostprignitz-Ruppin district. It is the birthplace of the noveli ...

was established on the southwest shore. A mill was built in Altfriesack, between the Ruppiner See and the Bützsee next to the Slavic settlement of Wustrau. The latter is probably the oldest settlement on the lake. Around the lake are other villages, which mostly now belong to the municipality of Neuruppin. Wustrau and Altfriesack now form one division in the municipality of

Fehrbellin Fehrbellin () is a municipality in Germany, located 60 km NW of Berlin. It had 9,310 inhabitants as of 2005, but has since declined to 8,606 inhabitants in 2012. History In 1675, the Battle of Fehrbellin was fought there, in which the troop ...

Economic and strategic importance

The lake was strategically important as it was the center of the Slavic area. It was also of economic importance due to its fisheries and for transportation. The building of the

Ruppiner Canal The Kremmener Luch is a shallow fen, known locally as a ''luch (landform), luch'', between the Glien plateau (near Berlin) in the south, and the Beetzer Heath in the north. Overview

The western Rhin flows through the Kremmener Luch, where it ...

in 1788 increased its importance, as it was then connected to the

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the States of Germany, states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. The long Havel is a right tributary of the Elbe. However, the direct distance from ...

and thereby with

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 ...

. Since 1898, a railroad causeway on the Kremmen–Wittstock line has cut the lake in two, 2.5 km from the north shore running east and west. Today, the Ruppiner See is the reservoir for the wetlands known as the

Rhinluch The Rhinluch is a fen landscape in the German state of Brandenburg, bisected by the river Rhin to which it owes its name. This wetland region lies north of Fehrbellin in the county of Ostprignitz-Ruppin. The upper Rhinluch covers an area of abou ...

. Until the beginning of May, water is held there from the spring runoff. It is then released over the locks in Alt Friesack to prevent the wetlands from drying out. The management of this runoff has the potential for political conflict.

External links

Photo and map of the lake
Lakes of Brandenburg Ostprignitz-Ruppin Neuruppin {{Brandenburg-geo-stub

History

Economic and strategic importance

See also

External links