The Lower Schalker Pond is located in the Schalketal near the small settlement of Festenburg and above Ober-Schulenberg. In this valley, the small mountain stream Schalke was once stopped in its natural course by several dam structures.
The Lower Schalke Pond was the lowest barrage of this originally three-tier pond cascade in the Schalke valley. It was built from 1729 to 1733 using a new pond construction. Its pond dams over a smaller and older predecessor pond, the "Wooden Schalker Pond", which was probably built at the beginning of the 17th century. The Lower Schalker Pond originally served to supply "power water" for the ore mines and steelworks below.
Shortly after the completion of the pond dam, a major accident occurred at the Lower Schalker Pond. The newly built dam broke on Christmas Day in 1733. The following tidal wave claimed several lives and caused severe devastation that reached as far as the northern Harz foothills. The building was rebuilt in its current shape and size only a little later. The dam of the Lower Schalke Pond has since been approximately 11.20 meters high and approximately 80 meters long. The water itself measures approximately 280 meters in length and a maximum of 120 meters in width. It has a capacity of around 150,000 m³ of water.
In the hot summer months, the picturesque Untere Schalker Teich in the forest invites you to take a bath. You can also explore the surrounding area and the Schalketal all year round on numerous nearby hiking trails. The former mining water is now a listed building and is an active part of the cultural monument "Oberharzer Wasserregal".