Tucked deep into the Bavarian Forest, the Frauenau Drinking Water Reservoir is a remarkable blend of engineering ambition and unspoiled wilderness. The earth-fill dam rises more than 70 metres above the valley floor, and the still waters it holds reflect dense spruce forests stretching toward the Czech border. It is a surprisingly peaceful and atmospheric place to explore on foot.

Sitting at around 767 m above sea level in a virtually uninhabited, heavily forested landscape between Frauenau and Zwiesel, the reservoir draws its water from the Kleiner Regen and Hirschbach rivers, which rise near the Falkenstein and Rachel massifs. The area has a raw, northern character — lush and green in summer, blazing with colour in autumn, and beautifully stark under winter snow. The surrounding catchment area is entirely within a protected drinking water zone, which keeps the landscape remarkably pristine.

• Frauenau or Zwiesel — access by car via forest roads leading toward the dam; walking along the dam crest is possible, difficulty: easy

• The reservoir lies within a protected drinking water zone — access directly to the water's edge is restricted
• Swimming and water sports are not permitted
• Best visited spring through autumn; winter visits offer a dramatic, snow-covered atmosphere

When it was completed in 1984, this was the tallest dam in West Germany, and it remains the tallest earth-fill dam in the country today. In 1985 it received the prestigious Architekturpreis Beton architecture award — proof that even infrastructure can be beautiful.