The Birnbaumteich 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 contro ...

in the German state of

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, located near Neudorf in the

Harz mountains The Harz () is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' derives from the Middle High German ...

History

It was completed in 1699 and taken into service for

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

operations in the Neudorf mining district. In 1963 the dam had to be repaired because its penstock had collapsed. In 1967 the dam was once again in operation. The reservoir has since been used for recreational purposes. There are bathing areas, a

campsite A campsite, also known as a campground or camping pitch, is a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area. In British English, a ''campsite'' is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using te ...

and the Birnbaumteich Holiday Park (''Ferienpark Birnbaumteich'') by the reservoir. In summer 2006 the dam itself was refurbished.

Design

The barrier of the Birnbaumteich is an

earth-fill dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

with an impervious core. In the older section the core consists of

sod Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

s; the newer section around the penstock of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

. The spillway on the right

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

consists of a pipe

culvert A culvert is a structure that channels water past an obstacle or to a subterranean waterway. Typically embedded so as to be surrounded by soil, a culvert may be made from a pipe, reinforced concrete or other material. In the United Kingdom ...

with a diameter of 1 m. The

headwater The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source. Definition The ...

stream is known as the ''Birnbaumgraben'' or ''Bach vom Birnbaumteich'' ("Birnbaumteich brook").

Sources

* ''Talsperren in Sachsen-Anhalt'', Autorenkollegium, Hrsg.: Talsperrenmeisterei des Landes Sachsen-Anhalt, 1994

External links

{{Commons category, Birnbaumteich
Birnbaumteich Holiday Park
Reservoirs in Saxony-Anhalt Dams in the Harz Mining in the Harz RBirnbaumteich

History

Design

See also

Sources

External links