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

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

at the south-western outskirts of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, the capital city of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. 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 (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

. 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, "See" means lake) and the ...

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

Babelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter (''Stadtteil'') of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The affluent neighbourhood named after a small hill on the Havel river is famous for Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Palac ...

district of

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the 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 The Teltow Canal, also known as the in German, is a canal to the south of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. The canal lies in both the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, and at points forms the boundary between the two. It takes its name from ...

. One third of this water flows into the adjacent

Griebnitz Canal The Griebnitz Canal (german: Griebnitzkanal, ), formerly known as the Prinz-Friedrich-Leopold-Kanal, is a canal in the western suburbs of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. It consists of a chain of small lakes: the Stölpchensee (), Pohlesee () ...

and through a chain of lakes towards the

Großer Wannsee The Großer Wannsee (, "Greater Wannsee", "See" means lake) is a bight of the Havel river near the locality of Wannsee and Nikolassee (in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf), a south-western suburb of the German capital Berlin not far from Potsdam ...

. 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 that links the River Havel with the

River Spree Spree may refer to: Geography * Spree (river), river in Germany Film and television * ''The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace * ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery * "Spree" (''Numbers ...

and the

Oder-Spree Canal Oder-Spree is a ''Kreis'' (district) in the eastern part of Brandenburg, Germany. Neighboring are (from north clockwise) the district Märkisch-Oderland, the district-free city Frankfurt (Oder), Poland, the districts Spree-Neiße and Dahme-Spreewa ...

, 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 (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

, the border between Berlin and

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

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 lake-side 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