
The Müggelsee (), also known as the Großer Müggelsee, is a natural
lake
A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...
in the eastern edge of
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, the capital city of
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It is the largest of the Berlin lakes by area, with an area of , a length of
The lake is in the Berlin district of
Treptow-Köpenick
Treptow-Köpenick () is the ninth Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Berlin, Germany, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Treptow and Köpenick.
The borough was formerly part of East Berlin. Overview
Among ...
. The suburbs of
Köpenick
Köpenick () is a historic town and locality (''Ortsteil'') in Berlin, situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially ado ...
,
Friedrichshagen,
Rahnsdorf and a little section of
Müggelheim border on the lake.
The lake itself is deep at its deepest point. At its south end are hills called the 'Müggelberge', which are high; they were formed during the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...
(as a
kettle hole, remaining at
Weichselian glaciation). On the so-called 'Kleiner Müggelberg', the much-visited and popular '
Müggelturm' (a tower) was built, the first one in 1889 (destroyed in a fire in 1958), and the current one in 1960/61. The tower offers extensive views over the lake and the forests against the Berlin skyline.
The River
Spree flows into the lake via the smaller
Kleiner Müggelsee, which is only in area. The Friedrichshagen waterworks on the northern bank of the Müggelsee obtains most of its water from the lake. There are also numerous deep wells located near the banks, and are mainly fed by the bank filtrate and only to a small share by groundwater.
Etymology
The first uses of the word component "Müggel" are, according to Gerhard Schlimpert in the "Codex diplomaticus Brandenburgensis", in 1394 as "den Tyns in der Miggel" and in 1487 as "von der Miggelseh". The
etymology
Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
remains unclear. The traditional derivative from Common
Slavonic ''mogyla'' = "grave, grave hill, earth hill" is rejected by
Schlimpert as not durable. A pre-
Slavonic,
Germanic origin from a
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...
root is more probable: ''migh-'', ''mighla'' = "fog, cloud": compare
Dutch ''miggelen'' = "drizzle" belongs. Analyses say that the word component "heim" in the name was brought around 1750 by settlers from the
Palatinate from their homeland
Odernheim, according to Schlimpert.
Namesakes
In December 2013, a lake on the
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...
ian moon
Titan
Titan most often refers to:
* Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn
* Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology
Titan or Titans may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Fictional entities
Fictional locations
* Titan in fiction, fictiona ...
was officially named after Lake Müggelsee by the
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union (IAU; , UAI) is an international non-governmental organization (INGO) with the objective of advancing astronomy in all aspects, including promoting astronomical research, outreach, education, and developmen ...
.
International Astronomical Union (WGPSN)
/ref> That ''lake'' is composed of liquid
Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...
methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...
and ethane
Ethane ( , ) is a naturally occurring Organic compound, organic chemical compound with chemical formula . At standard temperature and pressure, ethane is a colorless, odorless gas. Like many hydrocarbons, ethane is List of purification methods ...
, and is located at 84°26 N and 203°30 W on Titan
Titan most often refers to:
* Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn
* Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology
Titan or Titans may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Fictional entities
Fictional locations
* Titan in fiction, fictiona ...
's globe.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muggel
Lakes of Berlin
Treptow-Köpenick
Federal waterways in Germany