Gülper See

The Gülper lake in the municipality Havelaue is located about 70 km west of Berlin, on the western edge of Brandenburg, in the north- western part of the Havel country between the villages Gülpe, Prietzen, Kietzmann and Strodehne. It is approximately 660 hectares ( 3.5 km extension in east-west and 1.5 km in north-south direction) and is 23.6 m above sea level. NHN. In an east-west direction it is traversed by the Rhine, the immediately flows into the Havel, whose flood area, the lake is located. Since 1967 he is a nature reserve.

Formation and characteristics

The Gülper Lake is a Glazialsee, that is, it was created as a result of the Vistula glaciation from a washed by glacial melt water trough in the confluence of Eberswalde and Berlin glacial valley. Its depth is only about one to two, in the area of the discharge up to three meters. 25 years ago he was a eutrophic, water plants rich freshwater lake, which has developed due to increased nutrient supply to a Truebsee with strong development of phytoplankton ( " algae bloom " ) and visibility is less than 50 cm in the summer months.

Large deposits of muddy sediments ( gyttja, half- digested sludge ) originated mainly in the west, north and northeast, here rim the lake wide reed belt. The water level of the Elbe River and its backwater into the Havel affect the hydrological conditions of the area significantly. Due to the low elevation of the land above the mean sea level of the Havel and due to the low gradient of Havel and Rhin there are long-lasting floods in the areas around the lake Gülper. In the southeast and south, the flat shore pass into extensively grazed grassland and poor grassland vegetation. The wider surroundings form especially wet meadows, occasionally also fields and trees ( willows and poplars, pine forests in the south ); Gülper the lake has - in contrast to many other lakes in the region - a very "open" character.

Conservation

The lake forms the core of the 970 -acre " NSG Gülper lake ", which has existed since 1967, when only existed a fraction of today's nature reserves. The NSG is in turn part of the Natural Park Westhavelland, the largest protected area in Brandenburg. The outstanding importance as a breeding or resting area for waders, geese, ducks and cranes led (along with the Lower Havelniederung ) for the classification as a wetland International Importance ( FIB ) under the Ramsar Convention. On 5 August 2009 the lake was transferred Gülper National Nature Heritage together with other areas of the NABU -Stiftung.

The Gülper Lake has long been known as Europe's important resting place for white-fronted and bean geese who stay here in the spring and fall to tens of thousands. Even as a sleeping place for cranes he gains more and more importance - spent in October 2006 here temporarily to 10,000 this stunning large birds the nights. The spectacle of at dusk from all sides loudly trumpeting the lake flying cranes is attracting more tourists to the area.

Many other partly rare and endangered species of birds breed or rest here, as whooper swans, many ducks and Limikolenarten, cormorants, sea eagles and osprey, red and black kite, marsh harrier, bittern, Corn Bunting, Whinchat, bag and bearded tit. A floristic feature is the complete series of low-moor Verlandungs ​​companies west and east of the lake.