Urftsee bei Einruhr

Here, in addition to a great view, there is a really good snack and you can take the boat back to Rurberg.

Clearly visible. Right the jammed Urft. Left of the Rursee. Very rare that two reservoirs are separated by a wall and merge into each other.

The Urft dam is 58.5 m high, 226 m long and was built from 1900 to 1905 according to the plans of Prof. Otto Intze from local broken stone material as gravity dam. At the time of completion, the Urft dam was the largest dam in Europe.

Wonderful view of the Urftsee with water lilies

In every season a worthwhile view!

Beautiful scenery and great cafe right on the wall. Overflowing at the weekend as usual.

Great vantage point - but be careful where you step out - it is relatively steep downhill ⛰

Great view of the dam

This is a great spot to get an overview of the dam. It's a must-see spot. The season does not matter, I have been there in all four seasons and I never been disappointed.

Great view of the dam.

Both the view from the small rest area above the dam and a walk over the dam are recommended.

Urfttalsperre - imposing structure in the Eifel National Park
Erected from rubble stones and equipped with an arch towards the water, the Urfttalsperre was the highest dam in Europe for several years. The foundation stone for the dam was laid in 1900. The plans for the construction were provided by the civil engineer Otto Intze from Aachen. After five years of construction, the Urfttal reservoir filled with water behind the wall. The Urfttalsperre is an imposing structure in the Eifel National Park. At the top it is 226 m long and it rises 58 m above the foundation level. At the foot, the dam is 50.5 m wide, tapers towards the top, but is still six meters wide at the crown. After completion, the Urft Dam served as a future-oriented model in dam construction.

The Rursee is a real highlight in the Eifel. There are interesting paths on and around the lake vile.
At the weekend it can be at Rurberg, Schwammenauel. the Urft dam and Einruhr can get a little fuller. But that goes quickly and there are wonderful views of the lake and the Eifel landscape.

Great place for a break 😊

At the moment (November 2020) the dam is empty. The view of the dam is fantastic and somehow surreal.
The autumn leaves of the forests provide a suitable setting.

Great panorama, always worth a day trip!

Many great views of the lake

Many great views of the dam

View from the dam towards the castle Vogelsang.

Great view right on the Wildnistrail in the Eifel!

Great view of the dam with restaurant. Delicious pea soup

An impressive view of the dam from above.

The Rurstausee is located in the Aachen city region and the Düren am Kermeter district between the Heimbach district of Hasenfeld in the northeast, the Nideggen district of Schmidt and the Simmerath district of Rurberg in the southwest. Places from which access to the reservoir is possible are Heimbach, Rurberg (Obersee), Schmidt-Eschauel, Schwammenauel and Woffelsbach (sorted alphabetically).

The Rurstausee is about 10.6 kilometers long Rur river [3] (at about 5 km [3] as the crow flies between the end of the lake and the dam) when the dam is reached. Then it has about 7.83 km² [1] total area and 203.2 million m³ of storage space. The reservoir root of the water is - above the Obersee - 24 km [1] from the Rurtalsperre Schwammenauel.

The Eiserbach dam, which dams the Rurstausee tributary Eiserbach to the Eiserbach pre-basin, is directly adjacent to the south-western end of the Rurstaussee, and the Paulushofdamm, which dams the Rur and Urft to the Obersee pre-basin, is directly adjacent to its southern end.

Special features of the Rur reservoir are the island of Eichert, the peninsula on the Tonsberg and the peninsula of Eschauel (with the beach of the same name), which can also be reached on foot, depending on the water level. The wooded island of Eichert rises as an extension of the peninsula on the Tonsberg with its highest point (approx. 318 m above sea level [3]) around 36.5 m above the storage target (281.5 m) [1] of the Rur reservoir. About 500 m southwest of this island there is an island a few meters high when it is fully blocked and around 100 m long measured along its center line, which is an offshoot of the Eschauel peninsula. On the peninsula on the 333.3 m [3] high Tonsberg there is a deserted castle (cultural monument). As a result of the dam elevation completed in 1959 [1], the storage space grew from around 101 million m³ [2] by 101.6 million m³ to currently 202.6 million m³ [1].

Source Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rurtalsperre

If the weather was fine, this would be a total idyll - if not the street noise ...
But also such beautiful views and very good walking and hiking trails.