The Ungeheuersee in the Palatinate Forest 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 ...

is a raised

bog pond A bog pond (german: Moorauge) is a waterbody in the middle of a raised or kettle bog, formerly also in percolating mires (''Durchströmungsmooren''). It is also called a bog pool, bog eye, raised bog kolk, bog kolk or just kolk. Bog ponds owe th ...

surrounded by

mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These for ...

, which is located about three kilometres west-southwest of the village of Weisenheim am Berg. Because the lake is part of the only

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation ( ombro ...

in the Palatinate Forest and is important for the species-rich

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

along its shore and on its

floating island A floating island is a mass of floating aquatic plants, mud, and peat ranging in thickness from several centimeters to a few meters. Floating islands are a common natural phenomenon that are found in many parts of the world. They exist less co ...

(including

cotton grass ''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog h ...

es and

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...

s), it was placed under protection in the 1930s as a

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance. Under World Commission on Protected Areas guidelines, nat ...

. The lake is fed from two springs; its tail waters form the Krumbach. The Krumbach valley is designated as a

protected landscape Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

as far as the edge of the

Haardt The Haardt () is a range of wooded, sandstone hills in the state of Rhineland Palatinate in southwestern Germany. The range is some long and lies within the Palatinate Forest (''Pfälzerwald''). Its highest point is the Kalmit, near Maikammer ...

uplands. The Ungeheuersee was laid out towards the end of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

or Early Modern Period as a drinking pool for cattle. It was first mentioned in the records in 1599. The name has nothing to do with the German word ''Ungeheuer'' ("monster") but is derived from the words ''Unger'' for

wood pasture Silvopasture (''silva'' is forest in Latin) is the practice of integrating trees, forage, and the grazing of domesticated animals in a mutually beneficial way. It utilizes the principles of managed grazing, and it is one of several distinct form ...

and ''Heyer'' for

enclosure Enclosure or Inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or " common land" enclosing it and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land ...

. According to one legend, no one ventured near the lake when it was still unmanaged and boggy. There were tales of forest spirits that walked abroad around midnight. A forest woman was supposed to live by the lake who robbed many a child. Another legend reports that before the village of Weisenheim am Berg was raided during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, the villagers sank the valuable bells from the church tower in the Ungeheuersee in order to hide them. The village was then razed and all those who knew of the sunken bells disappeared. The bells were never found again. The monks of Höningen Abbey also sank their silver bells in the lake for security, but these, too, remain lost.Viktor Carl: ''The Glocken läuten heute noch'' in: Pfälzer Sagen und Legenden von 2000, Edenkoben On the shore of the Ungeheuersee is the Weisenheimer Hut (also called the Ungeheuersee Hut) belonging to the Palatinate Forest Club, which is open at weekends and is a popular destination. In recent years, intensive touristic use of the reservoir has led serious damage of the natural monument.

Sources

External links

{{Commons, Ungeheuersee Natural monuments in Rhineland-Palatinate Reservoirs in Rhineland-Palatinate Rivers and lakes of the Palatinate Forest LUngeheuersee