Titisee Rundfahrt.JPG
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Titisee is a lake in the
southern Black Forest The Southern Black Forest (german: Südschwarzwald) is the highest part of the Black Forest, an area heavily transformed by ice age glaciation south of a line roughly from Freiburg im Breisgau to Donaueschingen. The term High Black Forest is no ...
in Baden-Württemberg. It covers an area of and is an average of deep. It owes its formation to the Feldberg glacier, the
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
s of which were formed in the Pleistocene epoch and nowadays form the shores of the lake. The lake's outflow, at above sea level, is the River Gutach, which merges with the Haslach stream below Kappel to form the Wutach. The waters of the Titisee thus drain eventually into the Upper Rhine between Tiengen and Waldshut. On the north shore lies the spa town of the same name, today a part of the municipality of Titisee-Neustadt.


History

A
glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...
is created when the glacier remains stationary for a long time and the weight of the glacier excavates the landscape. Where the glacier is less powerful, the subsoil is less excavated and rises. In addition, it is possible that a
moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...
(deposit of rock material that is transported with the glacier) prevents the runoff. When the ice melts, water is dammed up to the moraine and a lake is created. The Titisee owes its formation to the last ice age ( Pleistocene). Up until 10,000 years ago, a glacier stretched from the Feldberg to what is now Lake Titisee. The basin carved out by the glacier and the terminal moraine form the Titisee today. The first records of the lake date to 1050 and the abbey of Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen, where the name ''Titinsee'' is mentioned. The name ''Dettesee'' is also mentioned in a deed from the parish of Saig that dates to 1111. The name of the lake adopted its present from around 1750. In the valleys around the Titisee (Altenweg, Spriegelsbach, Schildwende and Jostal), people usually worked in the agricultural sector, breeding cattle. Craftsmen like blacksmiths, wagon makers and shingle makers would work nearer to the lake. For a long time, there have been scattered farms around the lake. At the beginning of the 20th century, the construction of the Höllentalbahn and the onset of tourism led to a central village emerging at the lake. In 1840, two sarcophagi made of worked tuff were found below a knoll by the outflow of the Gutach from the Titisee. In 2011, the archaeologist, Andreas Haasis-Berner, published an article stating that they had to date to the period between 700 and 900. Hitherto, it had been thought that the
High Black Forest The High Black Forest (german: Hochschwarzwald) is a touristic and geographical region in the south-west of the German federal state Baden-Württemberg, primarily in the Southern Black Forest. History of the name The term ''Hochschwarzwald'' o ...
had been unsettled during the first millennium.


Origin of the name

There are various theories about the origin of the unusual name ''Titisee'': * In the Alemannic dialect ''Teti'' means "little child" or "baby". ''Tetisee'' or ''Titisee'' would then be a lake from which, according to local legend, small children came, similar to the story told in other places that babies are delivered by a white stork. Stories about babies coming from lakes were widespread in Central Europe (c.f.
Frau-Holle-Teich Frau-Holle-Teich is a pond in Hoher Meißner, Werra-Meißner-Kreis, Hesse, 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, ...
). Consistent with this theory, is the fact that the Titisee is a very high altitude lake and that, also according to legend, it is bottomless. Such lakes were formerly attributed with special numinous powers. * According to another theory, the Roman general, Titus, was supposed to have camped in the area of the Titisee. The lake was said to have impressed him so much that he gave his name to it. This is also the reason why, today, a crude replica of a Roman
galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
plies the Titisee. * According to a legend a nobleman called ''Titini'' hunted in the area around the lake in the 12th century. * Also the
arum lily ''Zantedeschia'' is a genus of eight species of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to southern Africa from South Africa north to Malawi. The genus has been introduced on all continents except Antarctica. Com ...
, formerly known in the region as the ''Tittele'', could be the origin of the name, even though it no longer occurs by the Titisee.


Tourism

At the north shore of the Titisee lies a popular spa town of the same name. Lots of wellness and health hotels are settled there. Spa therapy offers include Fango applications (mudpack applications with hot, odorless mineral mud), healing climate, Kneipp facilities, moor as well as breathing aerobics, movement therapy in thermal mineral water, relaxation therapy, terrain spa trails, physiotherapy, and medical and wellness massages. In the summer, the lake invites tourists to swim, sail, windsurf, hire pedaloes, hike around the lake, and stroll along the promenade. Furthermore, plenty of open-air events are organised around the lake each summer. In winter, the 1.2 km long Saig-Titisee toboggan is open. The largest natural ski jump in Germany, the
Hochfirstschanze The Hochfirst Ski Jump (''German: Hochfirstschanze'') is a ski jumping hill located in Titisee-Neustadt in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. The ski jump is named after the mountain Hochfirst (1197 m) in the Black Forest. It is the big ...
, is also located at the Titisee. The ski jump is host to various ski jumping events like the
2020–21 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup The 2020–21 FIS Ski Jumping World Cup was the 42nd FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, World Cup season in ski jumping for men, the 24th official World Cup season in ski flying, and the 10th World Cup season for women. The men's season started in Novemb ...
.


Winter freezing

The Titisee takes a long time to freeze over in the winter owing to the winds, which keep the surface of the water moving almost all continuously. For the frozen lake to be opened for use, it must have a solid ice thickness of at least (solid ice or compacted ice has virtually no air pockets). When conditions appear favourable for the opening the lake, daily ice measurements are taken by the Titisee-Neustadt municipal authorities at three or four places. If opening the ice to public use is possible, and those responsible give it their blessing, specific, demarcated areas of the lake are opened, but never the whole lake. These regulations were put in place after an accident in 1966. Up to that time, the lake had been used in winter as a
landing strip According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concrete, o ...
for small aircraft. On 14 January 1966, a tractor with a snowplough was clearing the landing strip of snow when it broke through the ice and sank to the bottom of the lake, taking the driver, Walter Wilde (29), with it. His body was only recovered 2 weeks later.


Fauna and flora

In the nutrient-poor Titisee there are large predatory fish (
pike-perch ''Sander'' (formerly known as ''Stizostedion'') is a genus of predatory ray-finned fish in the Family (biology), family Percidae, which also includes the perches, Gymnocephalus, ruffes, and Darter (fish), darters. They are also known as "pike-pe ...
,
sea trout Sea trout is the common name usually applied to anadromous (sea-run) forms of brown trout (''Salmo trutta''), and is often referred to as ''Salmo trutta'' morpha ''trutta''. Other names for anadromous brown trout are sewin (Wales), peel or peal ...
and a large stock of
pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...
), schooling fish ( whitefish,
roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roach ...
and perch) as well as
carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
,
chub Chub is a common fish name. It pertains to any one of a number of ray-finned fish in several families and genera. In the UK, the term ''chub'' usually refers to the species ''Squalius cephalus''. In addition, see sea chub. In family Cyprinidae ...
and
tench The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also ...
in shallower areas. This variety of species is joined by
brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...
,
char Char may refer to: People *Char Fontane, American actress *Char Margolis, American spiritualist * René Char (1907–1988), French poet *The Char family of Colombia: ** Fuad Char, Colombian senator ** Alejandro Char Chaljub, mayor of Barranquilla ...
and
rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
where the streams enter the lake, and by eels and burbot on the lake bed. In addition there are small fish varieties such as
sunbleak ''Leucaspius delineatus'', known as the sunbleak, belica or moderlieschen is a species of freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is currently the only species included in genus ''Leucaspius'', whereas formerly others were included, which no ...
, minnow and brook lamprey. Around the lake, grey heron may be seen. The shores of the Titisee are home to two rare types of quillworts, the
spring quillwort ''Isoetes echinospora'', also known as spiny quillwort, spiny-spored quillwort or spring quillwort is a species of quillwort in the Isoetaceae family, and is the most abundant species in Canada. It can be found in shallow aquatic environments f ...
and the
lake quillwort ''Isoetes lacustris'', the lake quillwort or Merlin's grass, is a boreal Isoëtes, quillwort native on both sides of the northern Atlantic Ocean. Synonym (taxonomy), Synonyms include ''Isoetes hieroglyphica''. Description The lake quillwort has ...
.


Photo gallery

File:Karte_Titisee.png, Map of Titisee File:Titisee 1909.jpg, View over Titisee from the south (postcard, about 1909) File:Titisee01.jpg, North shore with boat rental File:Titisee Rundfahrt.JPG, Pier for a touring boat that circles the lake. Winter scene


References


Other sources

*


External links


Official website of the municipality Titisee-Neustadt

Touristic information about the TitiseeWebcam Weiherhof of the Titisee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Titisee Lakes of Baden-Württemberg Black Forest Mountain lakes Lakes of the Black Forest LTitisee