Meerpfuhl Pond

The Meerpfuhl is a listed cultural monument. It is not known when exactly it was created, but it was first mentioned in 1550 as "weier im gern". The Walderdorff family, who had been wealthy since 1476 and had held the right of collection there since 1515, had the pond created as a water reservoir for the mills in Weiltal. Downstream, the other mills in Weiltal, including the Emmershäuser Mill, also benefited from the water supply. The controllable outflow of the pond can still be seen today as a straight ditch in the area.
The pond is leased by the Hochtaunus Fishing Association. It was considered to be an ecologically extremely important body of water with a variety of rare plants and animals. In particular, it was considered to be the only location of the "floating frogwort" in Hesse. However, on September 17, 1977, the ecosystem was destroyed by a fishing club's attempt to reduce the weed growth in the pond. The herbicide "Gramoxone" (which is now banned) was used. The effect of this plant poison went far beyond what was desired and caused lasting damage to the pond's entire flora. Even though extensive protective measures have been taken over the years, it has not been possible to restore the pond's former diversity.
Due to the slope, soil is regularly washed into the pond. It is therefore systematically becoming swampy. A remediation concept was proposed in 2012. After all permits had been obtained, employees of the Rhine-Main landfill dredged up around 1,000 tons of sludge in 2016/17. (Wikipedia).

Absolutely pure idyll. Also a highlight and insider tip for photographers

The 1.6 hectare pond between Altweilnau and Usingen-Merzhausen, originally created as a water reservoir for the mills in Weiltal, is a protected cultural monument. Completely fenced in, it is cared for and maintained by the anglers of the Hochtaunus fishing club.
Nevertheless, it is an eye-catcher, a wonderful spot beautifully situated between all the trees.