62. Königseggsee, Upper Swabia, Germany

Abstract

The Upper Swabian Plain, which was covered by the Würmian Rhine glacier, extends triangular over an area of 2500 km. Lake Constance marks the border to the south; the terminal moraine of the Würmian Rhine glacier south of the Danube and the Iller valley mark the borders to the north and to the east (Eberle et al. 2017). The Königseggsee (Lake Königsegg) is a lake of glacial origin situated in the central part of this region (9° 26′ 58′′ E, 47° 55′ 57′′ N), below the castle of Königsegg, at an altitude of 626.5 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The lake covers an area of 15.6 ha and has a maximum depth of 9.6 m. At its northern shore, it is surrounded by wetlands, while its southern shore is rising steeply to a hill, up to 729 m a.s.l. and covered by Fagus sylvatica L. dominated forest. The hilly plain to the east, around the localities Ostrach, Hoßkirch and Altshausen, has been strongly deforested and is currently under agricultural use. One previous study of a core by Homann et al. (1990) investigated the vegetation history of the Königseggsee.