Diemelsee
The Diemelsee is a recreational water paradise like no other reservoir in the Sauerland, nowhere else in the Sauerland can hikers look down so steeply from natural cliffs onto a lake, the villages have red instead of slate-grey roofs and in no other part of the region are there so many Romanesque churches.
Diemelsee - The Sauerland with a difference
Clean, fresh, open water - just the sight of it gets your brain into vacation mode. Beaches, swimming and boating on the edge of the Sauerland - that's Diemelsee.
The hottest days of the summer have lured many Sauerlanders and guests to the only lake in the region where you can enjoy unrestricted water sports. The reservoir is only used to regulate the water level in the Weser. Unlike most other Sauerland reservoirs, drinking water is not produced here - good for us, as we can cool our feet on the shore before setting off on our panoramic tour.
The first stage is the easiest. The M/S St. Muffert takes us across the lake to the dam wall. Stefan Koch, the captain and ship owner, has a few tips for me on where to find the best views: "My ship is named after the rocky viewpoint up there." He points almost vertically upwards into the forest. "But from Eisenberg - that's where you'll be scrambling up the mountain in a moment - there are also two great viewpoints. Those are actually my favorite spots." Then he has to grab the microphone again and tell the other passengers what there is to see to the left and right. "To our left is the Itter arm of Diemelsee. Its rear section is a nature reserve. It's one of the few parts of the lake where you're not allowed to swim or go boating." He is a ship's captain with heart and soul and is particularly pleased about the hikers who use his "passenger steamer" as a hiking cab.
The route then winds its way up the Eisenberg on foot. The view opens up several times, sometimes to the church towers of Padberg in the middle of the Sauerland mountains, sometimes to the open water and sometimes to the gently rolling, open meadow landscape of the Waldeck region. Shortly before sunset comes the reward for the scramble: St. Muffert. A picture frame of trees spans the view over the two arms of Diemelsee, while the sun sinks between the trees on the right. This exposed rock above the lake really is a Sauerland-Seelenorte.
After a mountain tour like this, I'm doubly looking forward to the cozy accommodation in one of the villages. The villages on the Diemelsee look different to the rest of the Sauerland. The roofs are red, the half-timbering is brown, red or black - everything is colorful. But the churches are particularly striking: nowhere else in the region are there so many ancient Romanesque churches from the High Middle Ages. Right next to one of them, Helmut Walter opens the door to the future monastery hostel in Flechtdorf. "This was always an extremely poor area. In the late Middle Ages, when new Gothic churches were being built everywhere, we couldn't afford any. Then the Reformation came here and people didn't attach so much importance to pretty churches at first. And when it became important later on, there was no money again. Today, we are happy about the architectural gems we have left."
Helmut Walter is renovating one of the region's most valuable treasures together with a few other pensioners and committed citizens from Flechtdorf. In addition to the church, there is still a lot left of the former Benedictine abbey from the 12th century. With a huge key, he opens an oak door on rusty hinges at the end of a crooked wooden staircase. Behind it is a hall with rough stone walls and an uneven floor. "This was the dormitory of the lay brothers," explains the first chairman of the monastery support association. "When we took it over from the farmer who used to own the house, the hall was full of hay right up to the roof. The lowest layer was probably from before the Second World War. In one corner, we found explosive material under the hay, which was probably hidden there from the Allies at the end of the war. Unfortunately, there was nothing of value. Incidentally, the hay was still in good condition. The farmers from the village were able to feed it."
The hall cannot yet be used because the ceiling is somewhat dilapidated. Renovation is the association's next project. In another part of the building, a hostel for hikers will soon be ready for occupancy: simple monastery cells are being built here, the furnishings a tasteful mix of new and old, no comfort but great stories from the host about murdered abbots and sinister monastery intrigues. Who needs a TV with so much going on in your head? Perfect for anyone who wants to spend the night in a completely different way. Everything is a little different at Diemelsee.