Bostalsee

The Bostalsee is a reservoir in the municipality of Nohfelden in the northern Saarland. It was created in 1979. The dam has a length of 500 metres. The lake is almost exclusively used for recreation. The hydropower from the stored water has been used since the end of 2013 to a small extent to generate electricity, especially to light the circular walk around the lake in winter. The southwestern part of the lake has been designated as a nature reserve.
Construction.
This major tourist project was initiated in the early 1970s by the head of the county council of St. Wendel, Werner Zeyer, who later became the minister president of the Saarland. The long term aim was to strengthen the tourist infrastructure in the county of St. Wendel in order to raise the number of tourists. In addition, the new waterbody was intended to extend the local recreation facilities and improve the ecology.
Basic data.
The lake has a surface area of 120 ha (1.2 km²), a volume of 8 million m³ and maximum depth of 18 metres. It lies at a height of about within the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park near . It is thus the largest artificial body of water used for recreation in southwest Germany. The lakeside villages are Bosen, Eckelhausen, Gonnesweiler and Neunkirchen/Nahe, and the Bostalsee Leisure Centre is run by the county. The dam impounds the waters of the Bos and the Dämelbach.