The Sorpe Dam (german: Sorpetalsperre) is a
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 ...
on the
Sorpe river, near the small town of
Sundern in the district of
Hochsauerland
Hochsauerlandkreis (meaning “High Sauerland District” in German) is a Kreis (district) in the east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Neighboring districts are Soest, Paderborn, Höxter, Waldeck-Frankenberg, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe, M ...
in
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
,
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 ...
.
Together with the
Biggesee, the
Möhne Reservoir
The Möhne Reservoir, or Moehne Reservoir, is an artificial lake in North Rhine-Westphalia, some 45 km east of Dortmund, Germany. The lake is formed by the damming of two rivers, Möhne and Heve, and with its four basins stores as much as 1 ...
, and the Verse reservoir, the Sorpe Reservoir is one of the major artificial lakes of the
Sauerland's ''Ruhrverband'' reservoir association. It serves as a
water supply
Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...
, drives
hydroelectric generators, and is used for leisure and recreation.
Geography
![Location Sorpesee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Location_Sorpesee.PNG)
The Sorpe Dam is situated to the north of the ''Homert'' natural park, south-west of the city of
Arnsberg
Arnsberg (; wep, Arensperg) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Hoch ...
in an area belonging to the borough of
Sundern (Sauerland) between the villages of
Langscheid (at the dam) and Amecke. It is supplied by the
Sorpe stream.
About once a year in spring, the reservoir runs over into the
spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...
, generating massive whitewater down the cascades to the stilling basin that draws crowds of spectators for a few days.
Neighbouring municipalities
*
Balve
Balve is a town in the Märkischer Kreis district, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in ''Hönnetal'', a narrow valley created by the river Hönne, which is near the Sorpe Dam, formerly part of Balve, and at the north end of the Sau ...
*
Sundern
History
The major prerequisite for the construction of the Sorpe Dam was the completion of the ''Röhrtal'' railway on 1 June 1900, a
standard gauge ''
Kleinbahn
The term ''Kleinbahn'' (literally 'small railway', plural: ''Kleinbahnen'') was a light railway concept used especially in Prussia for a railway line that "on account of its low importance for general railway transport" had less strict requirements ...
'' connecting Sundern to the ''Obere Ruhrtalbahn'' at
Neheim-Hüsten. During construction, its
steam locomotives pulled heavy construction trains over a specially laid construction spur and the newly erected railway
viaduct at
Stemel to what became Europe's largest construction site between 1926 and 1935. In total, the steam trains carried more than 300,000 metric tonnes of construction material to the Sorpe dam, where smaller
light railway
A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards allow ...
s took over.
In
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 Sorpe Dam was among the targets of the British
airstrikes of ''
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on Nazi Germany, German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by No. 617 Squadron RAF, 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using sp ...
'' in the night from 16 to 17 May 1943, as were the dams on the
Eder and
Möhne
The Möhne () is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Ruhr. The Möhne passes the towns of Brilon, Rüthen and Warstein. There is a large artificial lake near the mouth of the river, the Möhne Reservoir, us ...
. In these attacks, the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
attempted to destroy the dams using
bouncing bomb
A bouncing bomb is a bomb designed to bounce to a target across water in a calculated manner to avoid obstacles such as torpedo nets, and to allow both the bomb's speed on arrival at the target and the timing of its detonation to be pre-deter ...
s, achieving at least one direct hit on the Sorpe Dam. According to the BBC 'Dambusters Declassified' the bomb used on Sorpe was not to spin as it was dropped on the dam rather than on the water and had no need to bounce. However, while the older
arch-gravity dam
An arch-gravity dam or arched dam is a dam with the characteristics of both an arch dam and a gravity dam. It is a dam that curves upstream in a narrowing curve that directs most of the water pressure against the canyon rock walls, providing the f ...
s of Eder and Möhne were successfully breached, causing a catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley, the Sorpe's
embankment dam with its
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 wid ...
core covered in soil withstood the attacks with only minor damage. The planners of the Operation had estimated that it would take 5 of the bouncing bombs placed correctly to weaken the dam sufficiently for water pressure to complete the break. The attacks also had to be made parallel to the line of the dam rather than perpendicular. A second British airstrike on 15 October 1944 with five-ton
Tallboy bomb
Tallboy or Bomb, Medium Capacity, 12,000 lb was an earthquake bomb developed by the British aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis and used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War."Medium capacity" refers to the ratio of bomb ...
s also failed, leaving behind only several huge craters and causing minor spillage.
After the war, in late 1958 the reservoir was drained for bomb damage repairs, in the course of which, shortly before Christmas, workers discovered an unexploded Tallboy bomb. On 6 January 1959 the whole village of Langscheid was evacuated while Northrhine-Westphalia's chief bomb disposal officer, Walter Mietzke, and British Lieutenant, James M. Waters, jointly defused the 3.6m long bomb that still contained 2.5 metric tonnes of high explosive and 3 highly unstable tail-
fuzes.
Recreation
Today, the Sorpe Reservoir affords opportunities to several recreational activities like
scuba diving
Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...
,
rowing
Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
,
yachting
Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Yachts are distinguished from working ships mainly by their leisure purpose. "Yacht" derives from the Dutch word '' jacht'' ("hunt"). With sailboats, ...
,
windsurfing
Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
,
beach volleyball, and
recreational fishing
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing or game fishing, is fishing for leisure, exercise or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing fo ...
, while the surrounding area offers a
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
course,
hiking trails
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...
,
rock climbing, four lakeshore
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 ...
s on the west bank, and more. It has therefore become a favourite local recreation area for residents of the nearby
Ruhr Area
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km ...
and is also popular with
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
tourists. The passenger
motor ship
A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V.
Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...
''MS Sorpesee'' is available for outings during the summer season. Four
DLRG
The German Life Saving Association (german: Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft or DLRG) is a relief organization for life saving in Germany. The DLRG is the largest voluntary lifesaving organization in the world.
With around 560,000 mem ...
lifeguard bases as well as a
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
base on campsite 3 provide safety.
The campsites are numbered 2 through 5 from North to South; the youth hostel was built at the location of former campsite 1.
A new bicycle and pedestrian lane was constructed on the west bank parallel to the quayside road in 2006, connecting the hamlets of Sundern-Amecke and Sundern-Langscheid. Motor access to the east bank road is limited to service vehicles. Private motor boats are prohibited on the reservoir to prevent oil spills and for maintaining a high drinking water quality.
Image gallery
Image:Sundern-Amecke, Germany.jpg, View of the reservoir looking north, foreground: Amecke, background: Langscheid
Image:Sundern-Sorpesee1-Asio.JPG, View of the dam from one of the campsites on the West bank
Image:Sundern-Sorpesee2-Asio.JPG, View of the dam from one of the campsites on the West bank
Image:Sundern-Sorpesee3-Asio.JPG, View from the West bank looking South
Image:Sundern-Sorpesee4-Asio.JPG, View of the dam from the West bank
Image:Ausgleichsweiher.jpg, Stilling basin
Image:Sundern-Sorpesee5-Asio.JPG, Stilling basin, hydroelectric power station and dam
Image:Sundern-Sorpesee6-Asio.JPG, Stilling basin and hydroelectric power station
Image:Sundern-Sorpesee7-Asio.JPG, Stilling basin
Image:Sorpedamm.jpg, Sorpe dam seen from Langscheid look-out tower in winter
Image:Sorpeueberlauf.jpg, Spillway
Image:Sorpekaskaden.jpg, Spillway cascades
Image:Sorpetosbecken.jpg, Stilling basin
Image:Sorpekraftwerk.jpg, Hydroelectric power station seen from top of dam
See also
*
Röhr river
*
Dams in North Rhine-Westphalia
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 ...
*
List of reservoirs and dams in Germany
These are dams and reservoirs in Germany.
The German word ''Talsperre'' (literally: valley barrier) may mean dam, but it is often used to include the associated reservoir as well. The reservoirs are often separately given names ending in ''-see ...
References
External links
Sorpesee.de
*
ttp://www.lua.nrw.de/wasser/stauanl/stauverz.pdf Register of reservoirs and dams in Northrhine-WestphaliaPrivate collection of pictures from the early days of the dam, Sorpe valley prior and during dam construction, and Langscheid life and architecture in the first half of the 20th centuryOriginal newspaper page in pdf format with picture of the dudPrivate collection of pictures related to the airstrikes{{in lang, de
Dams in North Rhine-Westphalia
Buildings and structures in Hochsauerlandkreis
Dams completed in 1935