Stilling-Solbjerg Lake () is a lake in

Jutland Jutland (; , ''Jyske Halvø'' or ''Cimbriske Halvø''; , ''Kimbrische Halbinsel'' or ''Jütische Halbinsel'') is a peninsula of Northern Europe that forms the continental portion of Denmark and part of northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein). It ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

between

Stilling Stilling is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Benedict Stilling Benedikt Stilling (11 February 1810 – 28 January 1879) was a German anatomist and surgeon who was a native of Kirchhain. He was the father of German ophthalmolo ...

Skanderborg Municipality Skanderborg Municipality () is a municipality ( Danish, '' kommune'') in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark, just southwest of Aarhus. It covers an area of 462.45 km2, with a population of 65,760 (1. January 2025) ...

and

Solbjerg Solbjerg is a south-western suburb of Aarhus in Denmark and one of the outer suburbs of Aarhus. It is located 17 km. from the city centre and has a population of 4,845 (1 January 2025).

Aarhus Municipality Aarhus Municipality (), known as Århus Municipality () until 2011, is a ''Municipalities of Denmark, kommune'' in the Central Denmark Region, on the east coast of the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of , and ...

. The lake is 7 km long and it is a part of the upper section of

Aarhus river Aarhus River () is a long river, in eastern Jutland, Denmark. The river flows through the large river valley of Aarhus Ådal. The valley itself, stretches from Silkeborg to the coastal city of Aarhus, but the Aarhus River only runs through the e ...

. In Stilling the lake is also known as Stilling Lake, in Solbjerg it is known as Solbjerg Lake and in Fregerslev it is known as Fregerslev Lake. Stilling-Solbjerg Lake and the areas around it are a protected area. The area includes the lake and the valley ''Pilbrodalen''. It was protected in 1964 and 1965 by the

Danish Nature Agency The Danish Nature Agency ( Danish: ''Naturstyrelsen'') is part of the Ministry of Environment (), and deals with a number of tasks in nature conservation and forestry. In addition, the agency is in charge of operation and administration of the stat ...

. The lake is not freely accessible from all directions but there are large recreational areas with jetties and benches by the lake in both Stilling and Solbjerg. From the north side the lake is accessible from ''Søgårde'' and from the south side ''Restaurant Stilling Sø'' lies by the shore. The lake is home to the training facilities for ''Skanderborg Vandski Klub'' (

Skanderborg Skanderborg is a town in Skanderborg Municipality, Denmark. It is situated on the north and north eastern brinks of Skanderborg Lake and there are several smaller ponds and bodies of water within the city itself, like Lillesø, Sortesø, Døj S ...

Water Ski Club)-

Legends

There are a number of myths and legends associated with the lake and its surroundings. One of the more recent is from the Torstensson War against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

from 1643 to 1645. It was said that the generals of king

Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the H ...

always travelled with a chest of silver to pay for mercenaries. In the winter of 1643-1644, Skanderborg Castle was besieged by Swedish forces and a group of Danish soldiers attempted to secure the silver and bring it to

Aarhus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

. However, the soldiers were discovered by a group of Swedish soldiers and the Danes then made a hole in the ice and, while under fire, dropped the contents of the chest into the lake to prevent the Swedes from getting hold of it.

Environmental conditions

Stilling-Solbjerg Lake is characterized by high levels of calcium and is categorized as a lake type 10 in the Danish lake classification system. Bathing is allowed and deemed safe and Stilling Beach Park is a

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

.Skanderborg Kommune (marts 2012): ''Badevandsprofil for Stilling badebro, Solbjerg-Stilling sø'', Skanderborg Kommune og ALECTIA A/S The lake suffers from high levels of

chlorophyll Chlorophyll is any of several related green pigments found in cyanobacteria and in the chloroplasts of algae and plants. Its name is derived from the Greek words (, "pale green") and (, "leaf"). Chlorophyll allows plants to absorb energy ...

, in the 2010s some 2.5 times higher than the ideal target. There has previously been pollution with especially

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

and

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

from both agriculture and untreated wastewater from residential areas. The problems have abated since the 1980s due to an active effort on part of the bordering municipalities. The level of agricultural runoff has decreased dramatically but the level of phosphorus remains largely unchanged due to accumulation in the lake

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

. In August and September there's usually some degree of

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...

l growth and

algal bloom An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in fresh water or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompass ...

s.''Teknisk baggrundsnotat til Vandplan 1.7 Århus Bugt'', Afsnit 3 s. 13 Stilling-Solbjerg Lake has a diverse flora and fauna. There are 13 registered species of vegetation, although coverage is only some 2% of the lake bottom and it is unstable due to the high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen. There are a total of 10 fish species including

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. The fishes in this genus are commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without ...

roach Roach or The Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * Cal ...

bream Bream (, ) are species of freshwater fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Ballerus'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', '' Lepomis'', '' Gymnocranius'', ...

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

Zander The zander (''Sander lucioperca''), sander or pikeperch, is a species of ray-finned fish from the Family (biology), family Percidae, which also includes perch, Gymnocephalus, ruffe and Darter (fish), darter. It is found in freshwater and brackis ...

European eel The European eel (''Anguilla anguilla'') is a species of eel. Their life history was a mystery for thousands of years, and mating in the wild has not yet been observed. The five stages of their development were originally thought to be differe ...

gasterosteiformes Gasterosteoidei is a suborder of ray-finned fishes that includes the sticklebacks and relatives, the 5th edition of ''Fishes of the World'' classifies this suborder within the order Scorpaeniformes. Systematics Gasterosteoidei is treated as a ...

and

burbot The burbot (''Lota lota''), also known as bubbot, mariah, loche, cusk, freshwater cod, freshwater ling, freshwater cusk, the lawyer, coney-fish, lingcod, or eelpout, is a species of coldwater ray-finned fish native to the subarctic regions of ...

. The dominating species are roach and

while Zander is well established.

References

External links

{{Skanderborg Municipality Skanderborg Municipality Aarhus Municipality Lakes of Jutland