The Rosensee 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 region of

Holstein Switzerland Holstein Switzerland (german: Holsteinische Schweiz) is a hilly area with a patchwork of lakes and forest in Schleswig Holstein, Germany, reminiscent of Little Switzerland (landscape), Swiss landscape. Its highest point is the Bungsberg (168 m ...

in the state of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

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 ...

History

The lake began as 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 ...

, built in 1908 as part of the construction of the Schwentine Hydropower Plants (''Schwentine Wasserkraftwerke'') by the shipyard builder, Bernhard Howaldt, and today is a fundamental component of the landscape park of the

River Schwentine The Schwentine is a river in the North German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is approximately long and rises on the hill of Bungsberg, the highest point in the state, near the village of Kasseedorf in Ostholstein. It then runs from its source to ...

. To achieve this, Howaldt had first to buy up lands along the

Schwentine The Schwentine is a river in the North German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is approximately long and rises on the hill of Bungsberg, the highest point in the state, near the village of Kasseedorf in Ostholstein. It then runs from its source to ...

from the Count of Rantzau and

Preetz Priory Preetz Priory (german: Kloster Preetz) is a former German Benedictine nunnery in the town of Preetz, Schleswig-Holstein. It operates today as a residence for ladies. History The monastery was founded in 1211 by Graf Albrecht of Orlamünde, nephew ...

. The price of a hectare at that time was about 2,000

marks Marks may refer to: Business * Mark's, a Canadian retail chain * Marks & Spencer, a British retail chain * Collective trade marks, trademarks owned by an organisation for the benefit of its members * Marks & Co, the inspiration for the novel '' ...

. Thanks to the

hydropower station Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

s of the Oppendorf and Rastorf Mills, now

cultural monument A national heritage site is a heritage site having a value that has been registered by a governmental agency as being of national importance to the cultural heritage or history of that country. Usually such sites are listed in a heritage regist ...

s, the village of

Raisdorf Raisdorf is a former municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated approximately 9 km southeast of Kiel. Until 2003 it was twinned with Uttoxeter, United Kingdom. On 1 March 2008, it was merged with Kl ...

was first supplied with electricity in 1904. The hydropower plants are now operated and preserved by the Kiel Public Utility Company.

External links

Hydropower plants on the Rosensee and Schwentine
Reservoirs in Schleswig-Holstein LRosensee {{SchleswigHolstein-geo-stub