Wannsee
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Großer Wannsee | |
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| Location | Berlin |
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| Primary inflows | Havel |
| Primary outflows | Havel |
| Basin countries | Germany |
| Surface area | 2.732 km² |
| Max. depth | 9 m |
| Surface elevation | 32 m |
| Settlements | Berlin-Wannsee |
The Wannsee is both a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany, and a linked pair of lakes adjoining the locality. Both lakes, the larger Großer Wannsee (Greater Wannsee) and the Kleiner Wannsee (Little Wannsee), are located on the river Havel and are separated only by the Wannsee bridge. The larger of the two lakes covers an area of 2.7km² and has a maximum depth of 9m.
The Wannsee is well-known as the number-one bathing and recreation spot for western Berlin, especially from a 1951 Schlager hit by teen idol Cornelia Froboess. It is the site of the Strandbad Wannsee, an open-air lido with one of the longest inland beaches in Europe and a popular nudist area. It was built in 1920-1930 after a concept by architect Richard Ermisch
At the western rim of the Wannsee locality the Glienicke Bridge connects it with the City of Potsdam. The late neoclassical Glienicke Palace is nearby. The locality also includes the neighborhoods of Kohlhasenbrück, named after the 1811 novella Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist, and Steinstücken, which in the Cold War days became famous as a tiny exclave of West Berlin within the GDR.
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[edit] Historical notes
On 11 November 1811, Heinrich von Kleist shot himself on the shore of the Kleiner Wannsee and – at her bidding – his lover, Henriette Vogel. A memorial marks the site.
In 1936, Wannsee was the site of the shooting events for the Summer Olympics.
On 20 January 1942, senior Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Villa (built 1914-1915) to plan the Final Solution to the "Jewish Question" – the extermination of the Jews of Europe. This event, presided over by Reinhard Heydrich and conducted by Adolf Eichmann, has since become known as the Wannsee Conference. Today, the building serves as a memorial and education centre.
[edit] Transportation
Wannsee is served by the Berlin S-Bahn lines S1 - as terminus - and S7 at the Berlin-Wannsee railway station. It is also a stop of some long-distance trains as well as of RegionalExpress and RegionalBahn trains of the Deutsche Bahn AG and the Veolia Transportation company.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Media related to Wannsee from the Wikimedia Commons.- Special Exhibit - The Residential Villa Areas in Wannsee, 1870 - 1945
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