The Eder barrier, which creates the Edersee. The Edersee is a large reservoir created by the construction in 1914 of a dam across the Eder river, near the small town of Waldeck in northern Hesse, Germany, to generate hydropower and regulate water levels for shipping on the Weser river. The dam was destroyed by special bouncing bombs dropped by British Lancaster bombers on May 17, 1943, creating massive destruction and loss of life downstream (see Operation Chastise), including the drowning death of 749 Ukrainian POWs in a labor camp just below the dam. It was rebuilt, and the lake today is a major summertime recreational facility. It has a capacity of 199.3 million m³, which makes it the third largest reservoir in Germany. It is a very popular summertime recreation area.
At low water, in late summers of dry years, the remnants of three villages (Asel, Bringhausen, and Berich), along with a bridge across the original river bed, that were submerged when the lake was flooded, can be seen, and descendants of people buried in the now submerged cemetaries go to visit the graves of their ancestors.
|