The Bitburg Reservoir (german: Stausee Bitburg) is a flood retention basin on the River Prüm in Biersdorf am See and Wiersdorf in the Eifel mountains of Germany. It is about 12 kilometres northwest of the town of Bitburg and not far from the city of

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

in the state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. The

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

, a 15-metre-high earth dam, was built by the ''Zweckverband Stausee Bitburg'' for

flood protection Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water levels ...

at a spot where the narrow and deeply incised valley of the Prüm opened into a valley bowl, that used to be constantly in danger of flooding. The roughly 2-kilometre-long and up to nine-metre-deep

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 ...

allows the regulation of

low water Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ca ...

levels, enables the generation of electricity, and offers a place of recreation, making it a popular destination and tourist centre in the South Eifel. Around the lake there is a five-kilometre-long circular path and many other good hiking trails, some of which are lit at night. The hiking network of the

German-Luxembourg Nature Park The German-Luxembourg Nature Park (german: Deutsch-Luxemburgische Naturpark) is a cross-border nature park, which was established on 17 April 1964 by state treaty between the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate and the Grand Duchy of Luxem ...

starts here. Sporting and recreational activities include rowing, paddling, surfing, pedaloes, inline skating, mountain biking, badminton, cycling and fishing (for trout). in the middle of the lake is a large fountain.

Gallery

StauseeBitburg02.JPG, View of the dam from the lake StauseeBitburg10.JPG, Inflow of the Prüm StauseeBitburg03.JPG, Outflow of the Prüm StauseeBitburg04.JPG, Boat hire Bitburg Stausee.jpg, Gastronomy by the lakeshore near Biersdorf Biersdorf am See (Stausee Bitburg) 01.jpg, View of the hotels on the northern shore

See also

Gallery

External links