The Lehnmühle Dam is one of the most peaceful reservoirs in the Eastern Ore Mountains - a quiet, forest-lined lake on the Wilde Weißeritz river that hides the story of a flooded village and an old bridge that only reappears when water levels drop.

Set in the Osterzgebirge between Frauenstein and Dippoldiswalde, the reservoir is ringed by a roughly 100-metre-wide belt of coniferous forest, deliberately planted to protect the drinking water supply. The landscape is calm and scenic - wooded hills, quiet shorelines and a lake that changes mood with the seasons, from misty autumn mornings to snow-dusted winter views. When water levels drop, as they did between 2018 and 2020, the old Alte Zinnbrücke bridge emerges from the depths, a relic of the historic tin transport route.

How to get there

• From Frauenstein or Dippoldiswalde - accessible by car, with road B171 crossing the dam on an embankment with a spillway
• A nature trail with 16 information panels leads from the Lehnmühle Dam to the Klingenberg Dam - an easy route suitable for the whole family

Practical information

• Swimming and water sports are prohibited to protect the drinking water
• Fishing is allowed, subject to water management restrictions
• Together with the Klingenberg Dam, the reservoir supplies drinking water to Dresden

A curious detail: when construction flooded the small settlement of Steinbrückmühle in 1932, an unexpected early snowmelt forced residents to be evacuated by boat, months ahead of schedule.