Gösselsdorfer See

The Gösselsdorfer See is a shallow lake in the south-east of Kärnten, shared by the villages of Eberndorf and Sittersdorf. It lies on the eastern edge of the Rückersdorfer Platte, where once a square kilometre of water covered the land. Today only thirty-two hectares remain open, the rest filled by reeds and peat. The water reaches no deeper than three metres, so sunlight reaches the lake floor and water lilies and pondweeds grow thickly. The lake sits inside a protected landscape of four hundred and seventy-six hectares, recognised since the nineteen-seventies. South of the water a smaller area of twenty-three hectares has been set aside as a nature reserve since nineteen-eighty-six. Groundwater feeds the lake at three hundred to four hundred litres every second, and the outlet drains into the Drau. Eleven kinds of fish swim in the brown-stained water, including bream, pike, carp and wels. During migration seasons the lake serves as a resting place for many birds. Broad belts of reeds line the shore, home to plants such as broad-leaved cattail and lesser pond-sedge. The scene is quiet, with few visitors, and the air carries the scent of peat and water.