Kategorie: News
Attractions and underwater city in a diving lake
Actually it should have been only a quick visit to a good friend, but since she lives right near the famous diving lake near Nordhausen, why not pack the diving equipment in the trunk? It is the end of October and we are on our way from Bavaria to Thuringia to pay a visit to our friend and visit the Sundhäuser lake. For years now, Bea has told us again and again about the attractions in the lake.
Report by Gerald Nowak
Well, attractions in a local lake? Mostly legacies of human hand, more debris than anything else... Here a toilet bowl, there an ugly garden gnome and an algae-covered angel, a decaying sled or a rusty hospital bed. Such objects brought in by people have never really interested me. That's why my enthusiasm regarding the diving day is a bit limited. However, I have to admit that I haven't really done any research on what to expect.
So the day of the visit comes and together with Bea I stand in front of the dive center of Wolfgang and Charlotte. Bea has known them for what feels like an eternity and discovered her love of diving here. It is Corona time and everything runs a little bit different. Entering the dive center is only allowed with mask and by following the distance rules. Also, only a limited number of people are allowed in the store. Nevertheless diving is allowed with only some restrictions: Just in small groups and with enough distance (above the water ;-) ). Wolfgang himself comes out of the store and shows us the map with the underwater topography. Since I just want to have a quick look, we have only one dive planned. "It's not that easy to even come close to exploring our attractions and the underwater world here in just one dive," Wolfgang says with a smile. "It's best to start at the sculptures, move across to the underwater city and dive out in shallow water at the crabs." Now that's a plan, I think. I can just cut it a little short if it's boring, I say to myself... what an error!
So we get dressed outside despite the cool temperatures, because the changing rooms are unfortunately closed. After only a few minutes we are at the entrance 1 and in the water. My amazement is great, I would not have expected to find such a perfect visibility. As soon as we dive down, I discover several crayfish in the dense green vegetation. They are only a little shy and I can watch them for a while coming very close. Along the slope we dive east to the sculptures on the underwater peninsula. With perfect visibility we can admire several of the lifelike ‘concrete companions’; Wolfgang is also standing here in the cool water. As planned, we take the shortcut over to the underwater city "Nordhusia", which lies between the entrance 1 and 2 in only a few meters depth. Wolfgang's idea here was to recreate the old former imperial city of Nordhausen. For this purpose, he built small parts of the town on land and put them together as segments in the Sundhäuser Lake at a depth of 10 - 12 meters.
A diving lake from divers for divers
We are all alone when we reach through the town. Along the city wall we go through the town square to the church. In the middle of the church is also a sculpture on which just sat one of the crabs as we swim along the aisle of the church. A bit spooky, but still beautiful, how the buildings stand here under water. Via the cemetery, passing by a skeleton we return to the entrance. Like at the beginning of the dive, we find a lot of crabs, perch and even a small pike in the shallow water area. Actually it's a pity that I only planned one dive. There would be so much more to see. Several shipwrecks lie here in the lake and some more sculptures. Especially beautiful are the shallow water zones, where you can also find carp. After we are back at the dive center, the equipment is stowed away and we have a short talk with Karsten, the divecenter manager; it is clear to me - I must return. But then - armed with camera and enough time to explore the lake in detail.
"The lake is a diving lake by divers for divers," Charlotte says. The former quarry lake was excavated for gravel mining and renaturalized after the mining was finished. The dive center of Charlotte and Wolfgang is located on the north shore with direct lake access and offers above as well as under water perfect service for divers. There are even small cottages with private bathrooms and toilets to spend several days directly at the lake.
Information Dive Center
Website: actionsport-nordhausen.de
Dive Center on Taucher.Net
Sundhäuser See on Taucher.Net
Current opening hours in winter:
Mon-Fri 10-17 Sat-Sun 10-16
Closed until Jan 10th due to corona lockdown!
From April 1st
Mon-Fri 10-18 Sat 9-19 Sun 9-18
The diving center offers tank fills (air, Nitrox up to 100%) and equipment rental.
Currently max. 2 persons or within the family are allowed to dive (Corona rules)
The dive center offers:
- PADI diving school
- Northern Husia, the city
- Art in the Sundhäuser lake (figures)
- 4 wrecks (Charlotte 1-4)
- 4 entrances
- max. depth 40m
- showers and WC's
- 5 cottages
- 5 bungalows
- 3 vacation apartments and 3 small apartments
Vacation apartments starting at 75 Euro
Small Apartments starting at 33 Euro
Bungalows starting at 60 Euro
Cottages starting at 100 Euro
Vacation House ‘Ella’ starting at 130 Euro
Plus surcharges (like final cleaning)
Day ticket for divers costs 12,50 €
The dive center manager Karsten has been diving since 2013. He learned everything from scratch from Charlotte, the wife of the owner (Wolfgang) and has been managing the center since 2020.
Alternative diving lake: Möwensee
Just - a few months ago - the diving center celebrated its 15th anniversary on September 1, 2020.