Mandelholz Dam

The Mandelholz Dam (German: Mandelholztalsperre) holds back the Kalte Bode Flood Control Basin (Hochwasserschutzbecken Kalte Bode) which is a flood protection reservoir located between the villages of Elend and Königshütte near Wernigerode in the Harz mountains of Germany. It impounds the waters of the Kalte Bode when water levels are high.

Key Information

Mandelholz Dam
Reservoir of the Mandelholz Dam
Mandelholz Dam Location of Mandelholz Dam in Germany
Country	Germany
Location	Harz, Saxony-Anhalt
Coordinates	51°44′44″N 10°44′11″E / 51.74556°N 10.73639°E / 51.74556; 10.73639
Construction began	1952
Opening date	1957
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Embankment dam
Impounds	Kalte Bode
Height	28.4 m (93 ft)
Length	224 m (735 ft)
Dam volume	197,000 m (646,000 ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity	4,470,000 m3 (158,000,000 ft3)
Show more

The dam was built from 1952 to 1957 and consists of an earth-fill dam with integrated concrete inspection walkway. In order to protect the crest from overspill, a spillway has been constructed south of it to handle excess water. The last time the dam was overspilled due to high water was in 1994.

The height of the dam is variously given as 26 m (probably height above valley floor) or 28.4 m (probably structural height).

Near Mandelholz on the Wormke (to the rear of the Mandelholz Dam) are the ruins of an older dam that supplied the Mandelholz Iron Works with water from 1612. Catastrophic flooding in 1855 destroyed the dam and it was not rebuilt.

The name Mandelholz as a place name may be derived from the spruce forests in the area, because spruce trees used to be called Mandel in German.