GERMANY: Waldeck Castle & Edersee Dam

Castle Waldeck is situated on top of a hill, above lake Edersee, offering a breathtaking view of the lake, the national park and the Kellerwald-Edersee nature reserve. Waldeck castle rests on the remnants of an 11th-century fortification, towering over the town of Waldeck. Formerly the ancestral seat and residence of the Counts of Waldeck, the fortification was later used as military barracks. In 1734 it was a state penitentiary, and in subsequent years was used as state archive, forestry office, and, as early as 1906, was put to use as a hotel. Today it belongs to the Waldeckian domanial administration and is public property. In September 2009, new leaseholder Volker Deigendesch reopened the redesigned Hotel Schloss Waldeck. Edersee is a reservoir (man-made lake used to store water). The Edersee Dam (’Edertalsperre’) is a hydroelectric dam constructed between 1908 to 1914 across the Eder river. The dam is primarily used hydroelectric power generation and to regulate water