Großer Wannsee

Großer Wannsee
Großer Wannsee
	Großer Wannsee
	map
Location	Berlin
Coordinates	52°26′36″N 13°9′41″E / 52.44333°N 13.16139°E
Primary inflows	Havel
Primary outflows	Havel
Basin countries	Germany
Surface area	2.732 km2 (1.055 sq mi)
Max. depth	9 m (30 ft)
Surface elevation	32 m (105 ft)
Settlements	Berlin-Wannsee

The Großer Wannsee (German: [ˈɡʁoːsɐ ˈvanˌzeː] ^ⓘ, "Greater Wannsee", "See" means lake) is a bight of the Havel river near the locality of Wannsee and Nikolassee (in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf), a south-western suburb of the German capital Berlin not far from Potsdam. Between the river itself and the Wannsee lies the Breite, or Grosse Breite (Broad, or Great Broad).^[1] To the north lies the island of Schwanenwerder and, opposite from the Greater Wannsee on the other side of the Havel, is the locality of Kladow (in Spandau).^[2]

Overview

The Wannsee lake 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. The Strandbad Wannsee, an open-air lido with one of the longest inland beaches in Europe and a popular nudist area, was built in 1920–30 after a concept by architect Richard Ermisch.^[3] Situated on the eastern shore of the lake it is officially part of the Nikolassee locality.