Top 20 Lakes in Osterseen

Wikipedia (Osterseen, 2023-09-06): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osterseen

View over the meadows to the Great Easter Lake 🌊 - North side - Beautiful moorland with a view of the Alps ⛰🏔⛰ - Iffeldorf - LKR. Weilheim-Schongau

Beautiful view of the Fohnsee 🌊 one of numerous lakes in the Oseter Lakes area Just to enjoy and dream 🤩👍

The Osterseen are a group of bodies of water south of Lake Starnberg in the Weilheim-Schongau district in Upper Bavaria. The southern and central Osterseen with the Großer Ostersee belong to the municipality of Iffeldorf, the northern Osterseen from the Stechsee and the Frechensee to the municipality of Seeshaupt. Iffeldorf is around five kilometers by road northwest of Penzberg, 20 km southeast of the district town of Weilheim and 50 km south-southwest of Munich city centre. The 20 larger individual lakes have a total area of around 225 hectares and an average depth of a good nine metres. The Kleiner Gröbensee and about 15 unnamed smaller lakes, each with an area of only a few hundred square meters, are not included here, seven of which are already heavily silted up. The Osterseen and the silting-up zone bordering to the west are located in the landscape protection area "Protection of the Osterseen and their surroundings in the communities of Frauenrain, Iffeldorf and Seeshaupt". The area received this protection status as early as 1955. Since 1981 there has also been the Osterseen nature reserve with an area of 1,083 hectares. About a third of this is on the surface of the water bodies, 494 hectares are high, low and intermediate moors, 172 hectares consist of semi-natural mixed forest. Around five percent of the Osterseen landscape consists of riparian regions, silted-up areas and meadows. The nature reserve is divided into three parts, which are separated from each other by the train line of the Kochelseebahn and the state road 2063: Südliche Osterseen, Nordliche Osterseen and Frechensee. In May 1997, the Osterseen were reported to Brussels as a SPA (European bird sanctuary) and FFH area according to the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive. In addition to the Eggstätt-Hemhofer lake district and the Seeoner lakes, the area is the largest and most structured icefall landscape in the Bavarian Alpine foothills. The complex of boggy and nutrient-poor lakes, low, transitional and raised bogs alongside bog and swamp forests with its extraordinary diversity of species in the networked habitats, biotopes and ecological niches is of Europe-wide importance for basic scientific research. The beauty of this landscape has always attracted artists. The painter Georg Schrimpf in particular, a main representative of the New Objectivity art movement, created several oil paintings of the Osterseen in the 1930s. Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osterseen

Bavarian State Office for the Environment (Osterseen Icefall Landscape): https://www.lfu.bayern.de/geologie/bayerns_schoenste_geotope/33/index.htm https://www.lfu.bayern.de/geologie/bayerns_schoenste_geotope/33/doc/33_schautafel.pdf “The Blue Pump The Osterseen are mainly fed by groundwater, which emerges in numerous spring funnels. The best known is the Blaue Gumpe south of the Großer Ostersee. The walls of its spring funnel are covered with white deposits of freshwater lime, which is excreted from the lime-rich spring water. Since the groundwater has a relatively constant temperature of 10°C, the water surface does not freeze in winter. Steam hangs over the spring on cold winter days.” Bank 51 is nearby.

Bavarian State Office for the Environment (Osterseen Icefall Landscape): https://www.lfu.bayern.de/geologie/bayerns_schoenste_geotope/33/index.htm https://www.lfu.bayern.de/geologie/bayerns_schoenste_geotope/33/doc/33_schautafel.pdf “The Blue Pump The Osterseen are mainly fed by groundwater, which emerges in numerous spring funnels. The best known is the Blaue Gumpe south of the Großer Ostersee. The walls of its spring funnel are covered with white deposits of freshwater lime, which is excreted from the lime-rich spring water. Since the groundwater has a relatively constant temperature of 10°C, the water surface does not freeze in winter. Steam hangs over the spring on cold winter days.” Bank 51 is nearby.

The view of the Fohnsee here is beautiful. In my opinion there is an even nicer view (with mountains AND village in front) about 300m further north from here. And for this you don't have to leave the path and sneak onto the shore in the nature reserve. (as of August 2nd, 2022) The way past here is definitely highly recommended. A little quieter due to the lack of bathing spots.

This of many other springs in the Osterseen is located in the shore area. You can go directly over this groundwater source via a footbridge. Crystal clear water lets you see down to the bottom. Very beautiful!