Rauschelesee

Rauschelesee is a lake in the Keutschacher Seental, a valley south of the Wörthersee in Carinthia, Austria. The lake is part of a landscape protection area and is used for bathing and fishing.

The name Rauschelesee comes from the Slavic word “rjavško”, meaning “brownish” or “rusty”. This refers to the color of the water, which is influenced by the peat deposits in the lake bed. The lake was first mentioned in a document in 1253 as “Rauschelsee”.

The lake has been inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by the discovery of pile dwellings on the eastern shore. These settlements date back to the Neolithic and Bronze Age and are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps”.

The lake was also the site of a tragic event in 1945, when a group of German soldiers drowned in the lake while trying to escape from the advancing Yugoslav partisans. Their bodies were recovered only in 1958, after the lake was partially drained for a hydroelectric project.

Rauschelesee is located at an elevation of 514 m above sea level and has a surface area of 19.1 ha. The lake is elongated in an east-west direction and consists of two basins, separated by a shallow sill. The maximum depth of the lake is 12 m and the average depth is 5.7 m. The volume of the lake is estimated at 1.08 million m³.

The lake is fed by the Viktringerbach, a stream that originates from the Baßgeigensee, another lake in the valley. The Viktringerbach enters the Rauschelesee from the west and exits from the east, flowing through the Treimischer Teiche, a series of ponds, before joining the Glanfurt, a tributary of the Glan. The Glan then flows into the Gurk, which joins the Drau, a major tributary of the Danube.

The lake is surrounded by a diverse landscape, with forested hills to the south, wetlands to the east and west, and agricultural fields and a bathing area to the north. A large camping site is located on the northeastern shore of the lake.

Rauschelesee is classified as a weakly mesotrophic lake, meaning that it has a low to moderate level of nutrients and organic matter. The lake has an excellent water quality and is suitable for swimming. The lake is one of the warmest in Carinthia, reaching summer temperatures of over 26 °C in the upper layer of water. In the winter, the lake freezes over and is used for ice skating.

The lake has a rich biodiversity, with a variety of aquatic plants and animals. The reed and macrophyte belt of the lake is largely intact, providing habitat and shelter for many species. The lake hosts 10 fish species, including carp, pike, perch, tench, and catfish. The lake is also home to several amphibians, such as frogs, toads, and newts, and reptiles, such as grass snakes and European pond turtles. The lake attracts many birds, especially waterfowl, such as ducks, geese, swans, and coots. The lake is also visited by rare birds, such as the black stork, the white-tailed eagle, and the osprey.

The lake is part of the Natura 2000 network, a European-wide network of protected areas that aim to conserve biodiversity and natural habitats. The lake is also part of the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty that recognizes the importance of wetlands for ecological and cultural values.

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