Diving in Brandenburg

The Straussee is a glacial trough lake located near the town of Strausberg, which bears its name, in the Märkisch-Oderland district of Brandenburg. It is located approximately 30 km northeast of Berlin in the forested and lake-rich landscape of eastern Barnim and has a surface area of approximately 136 hectares. It is a limestone-rich, stratified lake with a relatively large catchment area and a volume of approximately 16 million m³.

The lake stretches approximately 3.8 km from northeast to southwest and is up to 340 m wide. The water body has a volume of 14.5 million m³ and is an average depth of 9.9 m. The Straussee drains through the piped Postgraben into the Annafließ stream (formerly known as the Mühlenfließ), then into the Herrensee lake, to the Stienitzsee lake, and further to the Kalksee lake. Its groundwater catchment area is approximately 73 km². After a shoreline region a few meters wide and up to 6 m shallow, it drops steeply to a depth of over 10 m and is 20 m deep at its deepest point (a few meters southwest of the ferry). However, due to the thick layer of mud on the bottom, estimates of the greatest depth vary. Its thermocline begins at a depth of approximately 9 m. Straussee is subject to reporting requirements under the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD).
Approximately in the middle of the lake, the electric-powered Straussee ferry crosses it. In addition to local residents, the lake is primarily used for recreation by the residents of nearby Berlin. There is a public swimming pool and several free swimming spots. Boat rentals and a diving center (1a-Tauchcenter.de) are also available.
Motorboat traffic is not permitted, with the exception of the water rescue service, fishing operations and the permitted passenger ship.
The lake is rich in fish. Pike, zander, eels, crayfish, burbot, various perch, and carp can be found here. The abundance of fish is exploited by a commercial fisherman and many recreational anglers. Rainbow trout are farmed in aquaculture.