A romantic village - an idyllic lake? Unimaginable around 45,000 years ago! Massive explosions blast a huge crater into the landscape, immense quantities of ash are thrown up to form a wall 1.7 kilometers in diameter and masses of rock are hurled miles into the surrounding area. But eventually the volcano calms down and over time rainwater and groundwater collects in the funnel to form a circular lake.
After some time, a small stream manages to break through the edge of the cauldron, washing in rock material and pushing the lake northwards. Many thousands of years later, around 1200 AD, the village of Meerfeld was built on the alluvial fan. At that time, the small village community lived from ore extraction, fishing in the Maarsee and productive agriculture. Because where no life seems possible at first, plants later find ideal conditions: Volcanic soils can store moisture for a very long time and are extremely rich in nutrients. The lake level was even artificially lowered in the 19th century in order to expand the arable land!
Tip: There is an approximately three-kilometre circular trail around the lake, where you can enjoy the lush lakeside vegetation and the impressive carpets of water lilies.
