90 years Baldeneysee

90 years ago, the waters of the Ruhr in the south of Essen, where the village of Baldeney once stood, were dammed up to form a lake - the birth of the Baldeneysee. Created for ecological reasons of water purification and economic reasons of drinking water supply, the Baldeneysee quickly became a leisure magnet, far beyond the city limits of Essen. The Baldeneysee has long been known nationally and internationally - also because of the regular sporting events. To celebrate this, the city of Essen and Weisse Flotte Baldeney-GmbH have launched the Lake and Lights Festival on August 19, 2023. The clubs and restaurants around the Baldeneysee fill this day with life and offer various activities throughout the day. A fireworks display, which is scheduled to start at 9.45 pm, will bring the Lake and Lights Festival to a close at 10 pm.

"The Festival of Lakes and Lights has had many supporters since the very first idea. I am particularly pleased about that. From the very first second, the associations around the lake in particular have been involved with ideas and plans. We can present visitors with a very diverse program. I would also like to thank ruhrfibre as sponsor of the Lake and Festival of Lights and Wohnbau eG Essen, which is providing financial support for the family and hiking day," says Lord Mayor Thomas Kufen, thanking all the clubs and organizations that want to make 19 August around the lake a great experience for the people of Essen.

Around 60,000 visitors are expected to attend the lake festival. Anyone making their way to the Lake and Festival of Lights on August 19 should therefore only use local public transport or travel by bike. According to information from Weisse Flotte Baldeney-GmbH, access to Haus Scheppen will also be closed to cars for the whole day.

According to the organizers, the program for the Lake and Lights Festival will include rally rides by Weisse Flotte Baldeney-GmbH, a family hiking day on the Baldeney Trail and a fireworks display. The Villa Hügel and the Villa Hügel park grant free admission on this day and most of the hands-on activities organized by the local clubs are also free of charge. Baldeneysee local clubs are also free of charge. There will be taster courses in paddling, stand-up paddling, sailing, rowing and ergo-rowing. At Seaside Beach Baldeney, the Strandbad on Baldeneyseea live band will play and from 7 p.m. illuminated ships and boats will gather around the fireworks zone, bathing the Baldeneysee into a sea of lights until the fireworks are scheduled to start at 9.45 pm. In cooperation with the district government, the Ruhrverband has lifted the anchoring ban for this special day.

The lake and lights festival is scheduled to start at 10 am. The round trips of Weisse Flotte Baldeney-GmbH, for which the rates of Weisse Flotte Baldeney-GmbH apply, are scheduled to start at 11 am. An additional shuttle service for participants in the family walking day will run between Haus Scheppen and Heisingen between 1.30 pm and 6 pm and will be free of charge. Some water sports clubs also want to offer a free boat shuttle service between the north bank and south bank of the Baldeneysee offer. For refreshments, the restaurants and cafés around the Baldeneysee are the first port of call. Many clubs also want to run drinks, cake and barbecue stands for the lake and lights festival.

On the family hiking day on the BaldeneySteig, hikers will be able to design their own individual routes, as the starting points can be freely chosen at any time. The route is signposted with a hiking sign and will bring exciting stories about the Baldeney to life at a total of eight stations every four kilometers with the help of actors. Baldeneysee come to life with the help of actors. At the weir, the Ruhrverband will offer guided tours of the exhibition on the fish lift between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. and RWE AG will explain how the hydroelectric power station produces green electricity. We would like to take this opportunity to thank DLRG Bezirk Essen e.V., which provides water rescue services at the dam all year round. Baldeneysee the whole year. An open day will be held on the DLRG grounds at the Lake and Lights Festival, with musical entertainment and hands-on activities.

The Ruhr was dammed for the first time in the south of Essen on its more than 200-kilometre journey from its source in Winterberg in the Sauerland to its mouth in the Rhine. Initial plans for this date back to 1927. In February 1933, when the weir had been completed, the Ruhr was dammed on a trial basis. On June 22 of the same year, the Baldeney hydroelectric power station was put into operation. Passenger boats and an open-air swimming pool followed, which were very popular leisure activities for the people of Essen and all the surrounding neighbors. To this day, the Baldeneysee one of the most popular excursion destinations in the Ruhr metropolis. But the Baldeneysee is not just a local recreation and water sports area. On the south bank in the Heisingen district is the "Heisinger Bogen" bird sanctuary with marshland and breeding grounds for herons, great crested grebes and cormorants. Even water turtles have made this area their home and sunbathe on fallen tree trunks in summer. Next to the Villa Hügelthe former home of the Krupp dynasty, the ruins of Neue Isenburg, Baldeney Castle and the winding tower of Zeche Carl Funke are listed buildings on the Baldeneysee. Not forgetting the historic Hespertalbahn in the Kupferdreh district of Essen and Haus Scheppen in front of whose gate a motorcycle meeting place has been established. As the largest of the six Ruhr reservoirs, the Baldeneysee in Essen is always worth a visit.