Upper Lake Krakow

Glaver Koppel waterside in Winter
View from the observation pulpit to the north over the Großer Werder in Krakow Upper Lake
View from the Großer Werder to the Rauwerder in the Krakow Upper lake
View to the southeast over the black-headed gull colony in the south of the Großer Werder in Krakow's Upper Lake

Upper Lake Krakow

  • Country: 
    Germany
  • Site number: 
    171
  • Area: 
    893 ha
  • Designation date: 
    31-07-1978
  • Coordinates: 
    53°36'N 12°17'E
Materials presented on this website, particularly maps and territorial information, are as-is and as-available based on available data and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Overview

The Site is a lake embedded in a hilly landscape with several islands and peninsulas. The western part is more than 20 metres deep, while the eastern part is shallower. The shores are populated by reed belts in most parts. The islands in the lake provide favourable breeding conditions for the largest inland colony in Central Europe of common terns (Sterna hirundo). One of the islands hosts a colony of cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) with a considerable number of breeding pairs; the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) breeds on another. The lake is an important resting site for migrating waterfowl and waders, and an important moulting site for tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) and common pochard (Aythya ferina). For the tufted duck, it is the most important moulting site in Central Europe. The increasing nutrient load from agricultural runoff following the conversion of grassland into cropland has had a major impact on the aquatic ecosystem and has caused eutrophication within the Site. The fish stock of the lake is exploited, though the intensity of fishing has decreased in recent times. Breeding birds are threatened by predatory mammals, especially foxes and alien predators such as mink, raccoons and raccoon dogs. There is a visitors’ centre for the Nossentiner-Schwinzer Heide nature park, which includes the Ramsar Site, and the centre supplies information accordingly.

Administrative region: 
District: Landkreis Rostock; State: Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania; Federal Republic of Germany

  • National legal designation: 
    • Nature Park - Nossentiner-Schwinzer Heide
    • Nature reserve - Krakower Obersee
  • Regional (international) legal designations: 
    • EU Natura 2000
  • Last publication date: 
    02-09-2024