Offlumer See

Artificial lake, beach promenade, a beach, a viewing platform, hiking

The lake is a Offlumer incurred by gravel and sand mining quarry in North Rhine -Westphalia and is the Neuenkirchener peasantry Offlum on the Munsterlander Kiessandzug.

History

Since the 19th century there were sand and gravel mining in numerous places on the Munsterlander Kiessandzug, a deposition from the Saale glaciation. After the invasion of the British troops at the end of the Second World War, here the so-called Duke fir trees were felled and set up a tank graveyard. After the clearing of the site began in 1951 the reduction of the rich quartz deposits in a big way.

The Westphalian sand and Tonwerke Dr. Müller & Co., later Euro Quartz GmbH, operated since 1937 Gravel few 100 meters southeast of the later Offlumer lake. The company was able to (now cycle path ) use their existing loading facilities at the Wettringer road and rail connections to the railway line Rheine - Ochtrup. The Tiefentsandung was first with a dredger and later also with suction dredgers. In large hoppers, the material was stored and transported with conveyor belts to the treatment plant on the railway line. In the 1960s, up to 600 people were employed by the sand and gravel extraction on Offlumer lake.

The recovered gravel and sand was used primarily in the construction industry, but there were also more unusual purposes. So was special sand of the railway as braking means. In particular sorts quartz gravel from Offlum still finds use as a filter gravel in water treatment. Special sorts of quartz sand was exported around the world, even well into the Sahara.

Water quality

The lake has excellent water quality and is a fish -rich waters. The whole lake is in the water protection zone 3a of the waterworks of the city Ochtrup.

Recreation area

Since 2005, the sand extraction is set and the technical installations are dismantled today. In addition to the now nearly 50 -acre lake testify only three major HOPPERS of the decades-long activities. As part of the Local 2004 ( project: Jump over the gravel bank) has become a tourist attraction for New Churches of Offlumer lake. Among other things, a beach promenade were built and implemented the hoppers. They are now available as widely visible observation deck above the beach promenade and are called funnel towers. A café by the beach promenade was opened at Easter 2007. Since 2008, there are plans to make the lake and the environment with other offers even more attractive, such as through the construction of several apartments on the former premises.

View over the lake from the observation deck

Gabions and beach promenade

Seecafé on Offlumer lake

Offlumer lake in summer

The frozen lake

Gabions in winter

Skaters on the Lake