About 50 kilometres from Dortmund and other big cities of German Ruhr area, we found a paradise that lies around the big artificial lake Möhnsee. We decided to stop there because of the online offer of HI hostel.
The lake lies 50 kilometres east of Dortmund. Hostel is just a few steps from the coast of the lake. It has two big buildings. We stayed the night in a smaller house, named after the German Christian politic Joseph Joos. Despite arriving at the end of official hours of the reception (around 9.30 p.m.), the kind receptionist told us everything we needed to know and showed us the family room on the second floor. A room with a double bed and a bunk bed also had a small, but functional bathroom with shower and it also welcomed pets. Free Wi-Fi was available around reception where they also had a small round room.
After a calm night, we had a delicious breakfast. There was a good offer, with a variety of bread, salami, cheese and spreads. I liked the German offer of marmalade that you put into small cups that look like ice cream cones. You can also order lunch or dinner in a hostel. The grill package is extra special where they offer dishes from the grill.
Hostel is a great choice for individuals as well as for families and groups. They organize youth camps, language holiday, seminars, meetings or even weddings by the lake. They have eleven halls, the biggest one has 120 people.
The hostel’s location is perfect for activities in the nature. Playground, parks and sport fields, table tennis can be found nearby. Guests even have a private access to the lake with a pier and a beach. You can even decide to take a water skiing class or discover many paths by the lake or in the forests. Cyclers are also welcomed in the hostel. The hostel has the certificate of German Cyclist’s Association Bett & Bike. They have a bicycle shed, a space to dry clothes and equipment, tools for servicing, lunch packages, information, area maps and many more.
For rainy days or evenings there’s a bowling alley in the hostel and a Play Station. Reservation is recommended in the hostel, despite having 300 beds.
100-year-old dam on the big screen
Besides possibilities for sports activities, the biggest attraction of the lake is a dam that was finished on 1913 after four years of building. It was the biggest dam in Europe at that time and it was built because of the increasing demand for water and electricity in the nearby industrial cities. This 10 square kilometres artificial lake was built by damming the rivers Heva and Möhne. The dam now stores more than 143 million m3 of water. They had to move 700 people while building it and the dam flooded 140 houses. The dam looks like it is built from big stone blocks, even though it is an iron-concrete construction. It is 777 metres long, 36,6 metres high and 7,6 metres wide, which is enough for maintaining vehicles and many strollers. The dam is the biggest tourist attraction in the area. You can go to its foot in an hour and see it from every possible angle, but the most special view is from a boat.
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At the idyllic image of the dam, it was hard to imagine that it has a dark past. One of the daring action of World War II is connected with the dam. A group of British airmen with bombs flew to Ruhr where they attacked three dams, which would leave the German industrial area without water and electricity. The dam was bombarded on May 17, 1943. The pilots had to fly very low to avoid the radars. Eight out of nineteen planes never returned. They even built special bouncing bombs that avoided torpedo nets in front of the dams. There was a big hole in the dam and the water flooded the lower towns. 1300 people died, most of them were foreign workers and prisoners of war. Many factories in the river valley were destroyed, they had to stop the industrial production for a few months, especially steel factories. The dam was only damaged and was fixed in four months. The attack had a psychological effect as the British showed that they can hurt even central Germany.
After the spectacular event they filmed the movie The Dam Busters in 1955. It wasn’t commercially successful but they are planning to film a new version for a few years. They even invited Peter Jackson to direct it.
Attractive Zip line
To discover the area of the hostel, you can begin by crossing one of the longest European bridges for pedestrians that takes you to the biggest town by the lake, Körbecke. The lake can be discovered by a boat that has one of the station by the picturesque dam. You can visit a sports park, mini golf field, ride a horse or roller blade in a skate-park. For small and big fans of adventure, there’s an amusement park Fort Fun. Natural park Arnsberg reaches the coast of the lakes. 600-metre-high hills and forest area are two of the landscape’s characteristics. You can reach some lookout towers by walking on the paths, one of the most attractive is Lörmecke, which is 35 metres high. It looks like a big cone, made of wood and steel.
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Medieval city Soest is only a 15-minute drive away. If you’re not interested in historical buildings, you can discover one of the biggest adrenalin parks in Europe here – Kletterpark. You can even go on a zip line that is 800 metres long there. Soest is also a place with a great night life. Life by the lake also has many sports events and other events, from triathlon, cycler’s festival to kiting.
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