Lake Straussee

Brandenburg · Germany · Natural site

On moonlit summer nights a marble staircase opens down to the monastery on the Straussee lakebed – a fisherman once caught its bell Anne Susanne in his net, but the deep took her back.

The long, narrow Straussee at Strausberg, thirty kilometres east of Berlin, hides an entire monastery in its depths, so the legend goes. Once it stood on the shore with towers and gables visible far across the land, and in the tower of its church hung a great bell named Anne Susanne. Then the monastery sank – and on moonlit summer nights, those who search may find a marble staircase leading from the water's edge down into the deep, towards the drowned vaults. One night a fisherman caught something unfathomably heavy in his net and saw the bell Anne Susanne gleaming in the meshes. Beside himself with joy, he turned for shore to call to the others – but before he reached them the net tore, and the bell sank back into the deep where she waits still. The lake's clear, cold water draws divers today, some of them half-looking for the staircase.

FAQ

Where is Lake Straussee located?

Lake Straussee is in Brandenburg, Germany.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Molgreen · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons