Groß Glienicker See () 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 ...

in the states of

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a 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 area of 29,480 sq ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

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 31.6 m, its surface area is 0.66 km². The border between the city 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 o ...

and the city of Berlin runs in a north–south direction through the center of the lake, with the Potsdam locality of

Groß Glienicke Groß Glienicke is a village located both in Berlin and Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg. Until 2003, when it was merged into Potsdam, the Brandenburg—and main—side, was an autonomous municipality. The Berlin side is p ...

on the left shore and the Berlin locality of

Kladow Kladow () is the southernmost district of the Borough of Spandau in Berlin, Germany. Geography Located approximately 17 Km from central Berlin (Charlottenburg), the district of Kladow is bordered by the District of Gatow to the north, by the Ha ...

on the right shore.

Geology

Together with the Sacrower See to the south and the

Heiliger See Heiliger See (English: Holy Lake) is a lake within the city limits of Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, located northeast of the city center and bordering the historic park known as the New Garden. Together with the lakes Sacrower See and Groß Gl ...

in Potsdam, Glienicker See forms a chain of glacial lakes. It lacks a surface outlet and is almost entirely fed by

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...

The lake during the Cold War

The border between

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

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 ...

in the center of the lake was marked by buoys. The Berlin Wall on the west and south shores prevented access to or even a sight of the shore by East Germans. For those in West Berlin the lake was a popular place for swimming. One could swim (or in the winter walk over the ice) up to the buoys.

Alexander Haus

Alexander house stands on the north-western side of the lake. The home was constructed in 1927 by Dr. Alfred Alexander on land leased from Otto von Wollank, with the intention of building a weekend house. The home was photographed by Lotte Jacobi the following year. On the advent of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

the family fled

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in 1936 to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. From 1937-1952, the home was occupied by composter Will Meisel and actress

Eliza Illiard Eliza Illiard (1905–1969) was a German singer and actress.Noack p.432 Selected filmography * ''What Am I Without You ''What Am I Without You'' (german: Was bin ich ohne Dich) is a 1934 German musical comedy film directed by Arthur Maria R ...

. The first member of the Alexander family to return to the home was Dr. Afred's son, Hanns Alexander in 1946. Hanns was notable was capturing

Rudolf Höss Rudolf Franz Ferdinand Höss (also Höß, Hoeß, or Hoess; 25 November 1901 – 16 April 1947) was a German SS officer during the Nazi era who, after the defeat of Nazi Germany, was convicted for war crimes. Höss was the longest-serving comm ...

. From 1952-2003, the Kühne and Fuhrmann families resided in the home. The house then fell into disrepair from 2003 onwards, until 2013 when writer Thomas Harding discovered the home, due to his family links to the Alexander family. The home was restored and given monument status in 2014. Thomas wrote ''The House by the Lake'' detailing the history of the home.

References

External links

* Lakes of Berlin Lakes of Brandenburg Geography of Potsdam Spandau {{Berlin-geo-stub