The Wienerwaldsee (English:''Vienna Forest Lake'') is a shallow

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 ...

, located 20 kilometres west of

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It is located just north of Austria's main

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...

, the

West Autobahn The West Autobahn (A1) was the first motorway (''Autobahn'') to be built in Austria, originating from plans drawn up for the so-called ''Reichsautobahn'' system. Completed in 1967, today it runs from the outskirts of Vienna via Linz to Salzburg, ...

, between

Tullnerbach Tullnerbach is a municipality in the district of St. Pölten-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It was here in 1901 that Wilhelm Kress failed at his attempt of motorized seaplane flight on the Wienerwaldsee. The town belonged to Wien-Um ...

and Neu-Purkersdorf. It was created over three years, 1895–1897, by

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, a ...

ming the Wienfluss ( The Wien) and letting it fill the valley behind. The area around the lake is a nature

conservation area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

. On the northern shore, near the

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

, stands the

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

Wilhelm Kress Wilhelm Kress (29 July 1836 in Saint Petersburg – 24 February 1913 in Vienna) Born of German (Bavarian) parents in St. Petersburg in 1836. Moved to Vienna in 1873, where his self-propelled flying models attracted much attention. He became a na ...

. He was an early pioneer of

seaplanes A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

and during testing one of his

prototypes A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...

sank without trace after hitting debris on the surface. The long distance

Westbahn WESTbahn Management GmbH (a subsidiary of ''RAIL Holding AG'') is an open access railway company operating express train services on Austria's Western Railway (also known as Westbahn) since 11 December 2011. The French railway company SNCF has a ...

(''Western Railway'') runs along the northern shore of the lake.

Gallery

References

* Ulrike Volk, ''Standsicherheitsbeurteilung des Staudammes "Wienerwaldsee"'', Hochschulschrift, Universität für Bodenkultur, Wien, Diplom-Arbeit (2000) * Zisser, Georg, ''Versuche zur Direktfiltration des Wassers aus dem Wienerwaldsee - Großtechnische Versuche über die Anwendung von Flockungshilfsmitteln in der Flockungseinrichtung des Wientalwasserwerks'', Hochschulschrift, Universität für Bodenkultur, Wien, Diplom-Arbeit (1975) Lakes of Lower Austria Reservoirs in Austria {{LowerAustria-geo-stub