Schluchsee

Geschichte

The Schluchsee is a reservoir lake in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, southeast of the Titisee in the Black Forest near Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.NameIn the Alemannic dialects of the region the name of the lake is the Schluechs or Schlues. Historical sources also spell it with a diphthong: 983 lacus Sluochse, 1095 Schluochsee, 1125 predium Sluocse, 1312 der sê ze Sluoze. Thus it cannot be claimed that the name, as is often asserted, from the Middle High German slûch ="pipe, tube" (Alemannic Schluuch), because in this case in the present dialect and the historical sources no diphthong was available. Albert Krieger links the name to the Middle High German sluocht "ravine". But this meaning is also not accurate.LocationThe Schluchsee, with its height of 930m above sea level, is the highest reservoir in Germany and also the largest lake in the Black Forest. By contrast the Hornberg Basin (Hornbergbecken), is 1,048 metres above sea level, but is the upper basin of a pumped storage hydropower station, rather than a reservoir.The water of the reservoir is relatively cool even in summer because of its high elevation.