About Bleiloch Dam

The Bleilochtalsperre is Germany's largest reservoir by volume, holding approximately 215 million cubic metres of water when full. Completed in 1936, it stretches for 29 kilometres along the Saale River in the Thuringian Slate Mountains between Saalfeld and Schleiz. The dam itself is a concrete gravity structure 63 metres tall, impounding the upper Saale catchment which covers roughly 2,000 square kilometres of forested upland. Together with the adjacent Hohenwarte reservoir immediately downstream, Bleiloch forms part of the Saale cascade — a chain of four reservoirs operated by Vattenfall and later by STEAG and various municipal utilities for hydroelectric power generation. The reservoir provides significant peak-load electricity capacity and helps regulate downstream water flow through Gera and Halle. Surrounded by the rugged cliffs and steep forests of the Saaleland, Bleilochtalsperre has become a popular recreational destination, with sailing, camping, and hiking along its deeply indented shoreline. The water quality is classified as mesotrophic and the reservoir occasionally experiences summer algal blooms during periods of low flow. In drought years such as 2018 and 2022, significant historical artefacts from submerged villages were exposed as water levels dropped to record lows, drawing widespread media attention. The dam plays a critical role in the broader Saale-Elbe water management network, particularly during dry summers when downstream navigation and industrial cooling water demand are high.