Zillierbach Dam

Zillierbach Dam
Location of Zillierbach Dam in Germany
Country	Germany
Location	Harz
Coordinates	51°47′21″N 10°46′36″E / 51.78917°N 10.77667°E / 51.78917; 10.77667
Construction began	1934
Opening date	1936
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Gravity dam
Impounds	Zillierbach
Height	47 m (154 ft)
Length	186 m (610 ft)
Width (crest)	3.5 m (11 ft)
Dam volume	54,000 m3 (1,900,000 cu ft)
Reservoir
Total capacity	2,830,000 m3 (100,000,000 cu ft)
Catchment area	10.7 km2 (4.1 sq mi)

The Zillierbach Dam (

.

The Zillierbach was known as the Holtemme until the 16th century, then from 1558 as the Zilgerbach. Not until much later was it given its present name. Before the construction of the dam at Peterstein, it supplied the mills in Wernigerode and in the area around Halberstadt. Its variable water supply was evened out by an artificial ditch on the south side of the Hohneklippen, the Wormsgraben, built in the late 12th century.

Dam

The barrage is a concrete gravity dam. Initially it was intended to build an arch dam; but this was changed during construction. From 1998 to 2001 the dam was overhauled. In the middle of the wall is the valve house with its operating equipment.

Construction

The plan to build a dam first appeared in 1931. During the early phase of construction in 1934 cult artefacts from around the turn of the eras (AD 0) were found. The construction material was delivered from

below the dam was taken into service.

Overhaul and modernisation

After 60 years of operation the stability of the dam against collapse could no longer be guaranteed. Likewise the technical equipment was outmoded. From November 1998 to May 2000 the dam and waterworks were overhauled at a financial cost of 7 million

. The dam crest was widened to 3.30 metres and raised by about 1 metre. The valve house on the crest was given a 1.5 m wide gangway around it. The parapet walls were replaced by a railing. Prior to the overhaul, the equipment in the valve house had to be set manually and measurements could only be made on the spot in the power station. When the dam was first built, drainage channels were laid between the wall segments which had gradually disintegrated over time. As a result, vertical boreholes were drilled to drain the water away. The waterworks was modernised and supplies 2.9 million m³ of water annually. Since the overhaul and the aforementioned modifications, the crest is now open to walkers crossing the valley. The forestry commission has also removed trees blocking the view of the southern side of the dam from the observation point at Peterstein (checkpoint 36 on the Harzer Wandernadel hiking network).

Recreation

Swimming in the reservoir is forbidden in order to protect the fresh water. The reservoir is surrounded by a 4.5-km-long hiking trail. It can be reached from Drei Annen Hohne, Elbingerode or Wernigerode. A footpath leads to the nearby Peterstein mountain summit, from which there is a view over the reservoir. Trees that obscured the view were removed from the mountaintop during dam and reservoir renovation by the forestry commission.

See also

• List of dams in the Harz
• List of reservoirs and dams in Germany

Notes

• Dittmar Marquordt:Neuer Harzbote.Heft 5, Fremdenverkehrsverein Bodfeld/Harz, Elbingerode (Harz), 1999, S.175.
• Hugo Ehrt:Neuer Harzbote.Heft 13, Fremdenverkehrsverein Bodfeld/Harz, Elbingerode (Harz),2003, S.565.

External links

• Zillierbach Dam (in English)
• Dam operations in Saxony-Anhalt (in German)
• Information on the rebuilding (pdf; 193 kB) (in German)
• Contemporary silent film about the construction of the Zellierbach Dam near Wernigerode (1934-36)