Craneweyer

Today walked around our beautiful reservoir Craneweyer and through the forest situated around the lake. The total distance we walked was about 15 km. It was a nice hike.

The Cranenweyer is a reservoir in the Anstel valley in the Dutch municipality of Kerkrade.

In the mid-20th century, the coal mines in Kerkrade discharged their polluted wastewater into the surrounding streams. This includes the Hammijn and the Domaniale Mine. They use the Anstelerbeek for this. After the mine closures, activities are developed to give the environment a better look. One of those activities was the construction of a walking area where this reservoir is part of.

Just before Eygelshoven a dam was built in the Anstelerbeek. The lake that was created by this was given the name Cranenweyer. It is the only reservoir in the Netherlands. The lake got its name on 30 August 1974. The Kadasterboek Kerkrade of 1771 mentions a piece of land, located at the Cranen weyer (weyer = pond). It belongs to the domain of Castle Erenstein. The pond itself is located at the southern part of the present reservoir. The Cranenweyer covers an area of about 20 ha. It has a regulatory function (prevention of flooding in the former municipality of Eygelshoven and overloading of the Worm) and a recreational function (location in the recreational area, fish pond with about 500 fishing places and former rowing pond).