The Schurmsee is a tarn that lies at a height of 794 metres in the municipality of

Forbach Forbach ( , , ; gsw, Fuerboch) is a commune in the French department of Moselle, northeastern French region of Grand Est. It is located on the German border approximately 15 minutes from the center of Saarbrücken, Germany, with which it co ...

in the

Northern Black Forest The Northern Black Forest (german: Nordschwarzwald) refers to the northern third of the Black Forest in Germany or, less commonly today, to the northern half of this mountain region. Geography The Northern Black Forest is bounded in the north b ...

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 ...

. It is located on a line between Hundsbach and Schönmünzach. The lake covers an area of 1.6 hectares and is up to 13 metres deep. Its volume is about 180,000 cubic metres. An area of 7.8 hectares, including the tarn and its shore areas, was established as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in 1985. Around this reserve, 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 t ...

has been declared. The woods on the mountainsides around the lake have also been designated as a '' Schonwald'' (protected forest). The lake and its surrounds are a

geotope A geotope is the geological component of the abiotic matrix present in an ecotope. Example geotopes might be an exposed outcrop of rocks, an erratic boulder, a grotto or ravine, a cave, an old stone wall marking a property boundary, and so forth. ...

. In addition, the tarn and its environs are a

Habitats Directive The Habitats Directive (more formally known as Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora) is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The E ...

protected and a bird reserve conforming to the European nature conservation act, Natura 2000. From the 960-metre-high mountain of ''Schurmseehöhe'' there is a good view over the whole lake. There is a circular walk around the tarn. The normal route to the Schurmsee runs on a wide

forest track Forest tracks or forest roads are roads or tracks intended to carry motorised vehicles or horse-drawn wagons being used mainly or exclusively for forestry purposes, such as conservation or logging. Forest tracks may be open to ramblers or mountain ...

from Schönmünzach for a distance of about 4 kilometres and climbing through around 300 metres.

External links

seen.de
Website about the Schurmsee {{Authority control Rastatt (district) Nature reserves in Baden-Württemberg IUCN Category IV Cirques of Europe Lakes of Baden-Württemberg Protected areas of Germany Tarns of the Black Forest LSchurmsee