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Oderteich
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Oderteich
The Oderteich is an historic reservoir about seven kilometres northeast of Sankt Andreasberg in the Upper Harz in central Germany. It was built by miners from St. Andreasberg in the years 1715 to 1722 and, today, is an important component of the water supply network known as the Upper Harz Water Regale (Oberharzer Wasserregal). Moreover, for 170 years, from the time it was completed to the end of the 19th century, the Oderteich had the largest dam in Germany. The dam lies at a height of 725 m above NN by the B 242 federal highway, about a kilometre west of its intersection with the B 4.
The Oderteich was built in order to be able to deliver a reliable supply of water to the water wheels of the St. Andreasberg mine via the Rehberg Ditch, even during times of drought. Its capacity of 1.7 million cubic metres was, far and away, the largest of all the Upper Harz reservoirs at that time and was enough to cope with periods of low precipitation of up to three months.
Today the water of the Oderteich still drives several hydropower stations within its own valley, at the Samson Pit and in the Sperrlutter valley.
The dam also serves to prevent the regular flooding that happened each year in spring before the dam was built.
In 1703 the new Rehberg Ditch was completed, diverting water from the river Oder and bringing it to St. Andreasberg. This was initially a great improvement in the supply of water power for the mines there, but the Oder could still not deliver enough water during a period of extended drought. So the call for a water reservoir quickly became shrill.
A glance at the Upper Harz 'ponds' (Teiche) near Clausthal-Zellerfeld and Hahnenklee suggested a solution. At that time there must have been 50 to 60 small reservoirs in operation. Their design, however, could not simply be copied, because there was nowhere in the vicinity of the Oderteich to cut grass sods like those used to seal the dams of the Upper Harz reservoirs.
In the meantime, the Rehberg Ditch, which had initially only been made of wooden channels (Holzgefludern), was being 'walled'; in other words the wooden conduits were being replaced by a considerably more durable artificial ditch made of earth embankments and dry stone walls. In doing so it was realised that the sand resulting from the weathering of granite, so-called granitgrus, if it was thoroughly tramped down, produced a very good seal.
In 1712, the deputy chief miner (Vizebergmeister), Caspar Dannenberger, wrote two letters to the Clausthal Mining Office, in which he proposed the construction of the Oderteich dam, sealed with granitic sand, as well as two embankments made of granite blocks. This proposal was duly taken up, but Caspar Dannenberger, the father of the Oderteich dams, did not survive to see it completed. He died on 23 April 1713.
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Oderteich
The Oderteich is an historic reservoir about seven kilometres northeast of Sankt Andreasberg in the Upper Harz in central Germany. It was built by miners from St. Andreasberg in the years 1715 to 1722 and, today, is an important component of the water supply network known as the Upper Harz Water Regale (Oberharzer Wasserregal). Moreover, for 170 years, from the time it was completed to the end of the 19th century, the Oderteich had the largest dam in Germany. The dam lies at a height of 725 m above NN by the B 242 federal highway, about a kilometre west of its intersection with the B 4.
The Oderteich was built in order to be able to deliver a reliable supply of water to the water wheels of the St. Andreasberg mine via the Rehberg Ditch, even during times of drought. Its capacity of 1.7 million cubic metres was, far and away, the largest of all the Upper Harz reservoirs at that time and was enough to cope with periods of low precipitation of up to three months.
Today the water of the Oderteich still drives several hydropower stations within its own valley, at the Samson Pit and in the Sperrlutter valley.
The dam also serves to prevent the regular flooding that happened each year in spring before the dam was built.
In 1703 the new Rehberg Ditch was completed, diverting water from the river Oder and bringing it to St. Andreasberg. This was initially a great improvement in the supply of water power for the mines there, but the Oder could still not deliver enough water during a period of extended drought. So the call for a water reservoir quickly became shrill.
A glance at the Upper Harz 'ponds' (Teiche) near Clausthal-Zellerfeld and Hahnenklee suggested a solution. At that time there must have been 50 to 60 small reservoirs in operation. Their design, however, could not simply be copied, because there was nowhere in the vicinity of the Oderteich to cut grass sods like those used to seal the dams of the Upper Harz reservoirs.
In the meantime, the Rehberg Ditch, which had initially only been made of wooden channels (Holzgefludern), was being 'walled'; in other words the wooden conduits were being replaced by a considerably more durable artificial ditch made of earth embankments and dry stone walls. In doing so it was realised that the sand resulting from the weathering of granite, so-called granitgrus, if it was thoroughly tramped down, produced a very good seal.
In 1712, the deputy chief miner (Vizebergmeister), Caspar Dannenberger, wrote two letters to the Clausthal Mining Office, in which he proposed the construction of the Oderteich dam, sealed with granitic sand, as well as two embankments made of granite blocks. This proposal was duly taken up, but Caspar Dannenberger, the father of the Oderteich dams, did not survive to see it completed. He died on 23 April 1713.
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