Bostalsee

Bostalsee
The Bostalsee
Location of Bostalsee in Saarland Bostalsee (Germany)
Location	Sankt Wendel
Coordinates	49.56833°N 7.07194°E / 49.56833; 7.07194
Construction began	ca. 1973
Opening date	ca. 1975
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Bos, Dämelbach
Height (foundation)	22.25 m
Height (thalweg)	ca. 20 m
Length	500 m
Elevation at crest	402.75 m
Width (crest)	5 m
Dam volume	320,000 m3
Spillway capacity	35 m3/s
Reservoir
Total capacity	8 million m3
Catchment area	12.2 km2
Surface area	120 ha or 107 ha (long term)
Normal elevation	401.00 m or 400.00 m (long term)

The Bostalsee is a reservoir in the municipality of Nohfelden in the northern Saarland. It was created in 1979. The dam has a length of 500 metres. The lake is almost exclusively used for recreation. The hydropower from the stored water has been used since the end of 2013 to a small extent to generate electricity, especially to light the circular walk around the lake in winter. The southwestern part of the lake has been designated as a nature reserve.

Construction

This major tourist project was initiated in the early 1970s by the head of the county council of St. Wendel, Werner Zeyer, who later became the minister president of the Saarland. The long term aim was to strengthen the tourist infrastructure in the county of St. Wendel in order to raise the number of tourists. In addition, the new waterbody was intended to extend the local recreation facilities and improve the ecology.

Basic data

The lake has a surface area of 120 ha (1.2 km²), a volume of 8 million m³ and maximum depth of 18 metres. It lies at a height of about 400 m above sea level (NN) within the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park near 49°34′6″N 7°4′19″E. It is thus the largest artificial body of water used for recreation in southwest Germany. The lakeside villages are Bosen, Eckelhausen, Gonnesweiler and Neunkirchen/Nahe, and the Bostalsee Leisure Centre is run by the county. The dam impounds the waters of the Bos and the Dämelbach.

Gallery

• 
  Leo Kornbrust: Liebesthron on the circular walk
• 
  Stone sculpture on the circular walk Requiem für die Juden by Shlomo Selinger
• 
  Former solar-powered catamaran (meanwhile there is a smaller passenger boat on the Bostalsee)
• 
  Beach on the Bostalsee
• 
  Dusk at the Bostalsee, 2008
• 
  The Bostalsee seen from the north
• 
  Northwestern shore and sailing boat base
• 
  House in the holiday park
• 
  View of the lake
• 
  View of the nature reserve

See also

• List of dams in Germany

Literature

• Literatur zum Bostalsee in der SULB

External links

• Freizeitzentrum Bostalsee und Tourist-Information Sankt Wendeler Land
• Luftbild und Lageskizze, Segelclub Bosen
• Talsperre Bosen, Saarland
• Dokumentation von Zustand und Entwicklung der wichtigsten Seen Deutschlands der TU Cottbus, Teil 9: Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz und Saarland (PDF-Datei; 562 kB)