Lake Steinhude, german: Steinhuder Meer, , 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 ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

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 ...

located northwest of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. Named after the nearby village of

Steinhude Steinhude is a village in the borough of Wunstorf in Hanover Region in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is a tourist resort on the southern shore of Lake Steinhude. Once a small, quiet fishing village, today Steinhude is well known as a recre ...

, it has an area of about , making it the largest lake of northwestern Germany. At the same time, Lake Steinhude is very shallow, with an average depth of only and a maximum depth of less than . It lies within a region known as the

Hanoverian Moor Geest The Hanoverian Moor Geest (german: Hannoversche Moorgeest) is a gently rolling landscape between Hanover and Nienburg in the German state of Lower Saxony covering an area of around . It belongs to the raised bog regions of northwest Germany, which ...

Geology

It is part of the glacial landscape formed after the recession of the glaciers of the latest

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

, the

Weichselian glaciation The Weichselian glaciation was the last glacial period and its associated glaciation in northern parts of Europe. In the Alpine region it corresponds to the Würm glaciation. It was characterized by a large ice sheet (the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet) ...

. There are two theories regarding how the lake of Steinhude was formed. One of them says that glaciers gouged out the hole and meltwater filled it. The other theory states that an ice storm formed the hole and as the groundwater rose, the lake was created."Wie das Steinhuder Meer entstand"
/ref> In its middle there is a small artificial island carrying an 18th-century fortification, the ''Wilhelmstein''. Today the lake is the heart of a nature reserve, the Steinhuder Meer Nature Park, and is also used as a recreational area.

Islands

The lake has two islands, both of them artificial: *

Wilhelmstein Wilhelmstein is an artificial island with an area of in lake Steinhuder Meer, located in the Hanover Region, Northern Germany. The island was created in the 18th century as a fortification by Count William of Schaumburg-Lippe, ruler of this smal ...

() off

Hagenburg Hagenburg is a municipality in the district of Schaumburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russi ...

was built between 1761 and 1765. It was turned into a military fortress between 1765 and 1767 by

William, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe Wilhelm, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg (9 January 1724 – 10 September 1777), born Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Graf zu Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg, was a German ruler of the County of Schaumburg-Lippe-Bückeburg, an important military comma ...

. Afterwards it briefly served as military school (one of its graduates was

Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst (12 November 1755 – 28 June 1813) was a Hanoverian-born general in Prussian service from 1801. As the first Chief of the Prussian General Staff, he was noted for his military theories, his reforms of the Pru ...

who later became

Chief of the Prussian General Staff The German General Staff, originally the Prussian General Staff and officially the Great General Staff (german: Großer Generalstab), was a full-time body at the head of the Prussian Army and later, the German Army, responsible for the continu ...

). From 1777 until 1867 the island was used as state prison of the

Principality of Schaumburg-Lippe Schaumburg-Lippe, also Lippe-Schaumburg, was created as a county in 1647, became a principality in 1807, a free state in 1918, and was until 1946 a small state in Germany, located in the present day state of Lower Saxony, with its capital at Bück ...

. * Badeinsel Steinhude () was built in 1974-75 using sand retrieved from the lake. It has a sandy beach which is popular during summer; a service centre is available. Access to the island is via an pedestrian bridge from Steinhude. Steinhude Undines Traum

Tourism

The lake is a popular destination for locals and for vacationists. Up to three ships offer cruises; they are supplemented by smaller boats running on schedule across the lake. A bike path approximately long encircles the lake, crossing various landscapes.

References

External links

Steinhuder Meer Nature Park
* {{Authority control Ramsar sites in Germany Lakes of Lower Saxony LSteinhuderMeer