Take me to the lake!

There is no better place to spend those long, sun-drenched days of summer than at a lake. Germany has some 30,000 lakes and they come in all shapes and sizes. These lakes will have you wishing summertime would never end.

Germany shares this lake with Switzerland and Austria. At the entrance of Konstanz harbor there is a statue depicting a courtesan with a pope and an emperor in her hands - an allusion to lax morality during the Constance Council six centuries ago. Once controversial, Imperia now features in the city’s advertising campaigns. The statue rotates around its axis once every four minutes.

Many lakes in the southern German state of Bavaria have stunning Alpine backdrops. The biggest, Chiemsee, covers an area of over 80 square kilometers. Staffelsee near Murnau is a lot smaller, but it is famous for its light conditions. Members of the Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider), an artists’ group co-founded by Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky, lived and worked nearby.

Bavaria’s most spectacular mountain lake lies at the foot of Germany’s highest peak, the Zugspitze, at an altitude of 1,000 meters. Eibsee takes its name from the many yew trees that once surrounded it. You can walk around the lake, which is dotted with eight islands and has crystal clear water. The area can also be explored by mountain bike.

Dark blue and generally round in shape - they are known as the "eyes of the Eifel". Maare are lakes that have formed in volcanic craters. The Eifel region has more than 70 crater lakes. There is still some ongoing volcanic activity in the area. Every 30 minutes a geyser in the village of Wallenborn surges out of the ground, forming a three-meter high column of water.

This man-made lake in the north of Cologne is very popular. There are different areas for a range of water sports. There is even a regatta course. The lake attracts up to 80,000 visitors on hot days. As well as sporting events, such as dragon boat races and triathlons, other events are also held there, such as open air concerts and medieval fairs.

Germany’s biggest reservoir was created when the River Saale was dammed. A 28 kilometers long fjord landscape stretches beyond the 65-meter high dam. You can even take a three-day mini cruise there. The reservoir can hold 215 million cubic meters of water. Construction on the dam began in 1930. Burgk Castle (right) has overlooked the river for almost four centuries.

The special thing about this reservoir is that it is part of Kellerwald-Edersee National Park. The surrounding beech woodlands were included on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage list in 2011 - a measure to conserve Europe’s ancient beech forests. Only electric boats are permitted on Edersee. You can dive there among the ruins of villages flooded to make way for the reservoir.

Europe’s biggest artificial lake complex is under construction in north-eastern Germany. The process of flooding the former open cast mining area will be completed soon. A chain of lakes will stretch more than 80 kilometers across Brandenburg and Saxony from west to east. Visitors are already flocking to the lakes’ beaches. And there is even floating five-star holiday accommodation.

The lake was immortalized by the German writer Theodor Fontane who lyrically celebrated its beauty in his last novel called “The Stechlin”. Seventy meters deep and crystal clear, Lake Stechlin or Stechlinsee is a real gem among Brandenburg’s 3,000 or so lakes.

The northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has more than 2,000 lakes. The Müritz lies at the heart of its lake district and is Germany’s largest lake. Each year in spring and fall thousands of cranes descend on the Müritz National Park. You can travel from here by boat to Hamburg or Berlin via a complex network of waterways.