The Weinfelder Maar, also called the Totenmaar, is a maar around two kilometres southeast of the town of Daun in the Eifel Mountains, in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The maar lake was formed about 10,500 years ago by a volcanic steam explosion and is around 525 metres long, 375 metres wide, and 51 metres deep. It has a surface area of about 16.8 hectares. The maar lies at a height of 483.5 m above sea level (NHN). The lake's tuff embankment is higher in the west and south than in the north and east. Along the course of this bank are the Mäuseberg (561.2 m) and the Maarkreuz (534.5 m). The lake region is now a nature reserve, and bathing in the lake is forbidden.

Name

The description "Totenmaar" ("maar of the dead") comes from the cemetery in the immediate vicinity of the maar with its little chapel, parts of which date to the 14th century. This was the old parish church of Weinfeld. The village was abandoned in the 16th century (it was last mentioned in 1512) in the wake of the plague.

The municipality of Schalkenmehren currently uses the chapel and attached cemetery for burials. In the entranceway of the chapel are numerous Dank-Tafeln, plaques with inscriptions such as "[Saint] Mary has helped".

Legends
There are several legends associated with the tranquil Totenmaar. According to one, a castle once stood on this spot in which a benevolent count lived with his servants, his hard-hearted wife, and his only child. One day, the count returned home from the hunt and found only a lake in the place where his castle had stood. It was buried in the ground with all its inhabitants and had left behind a lake, the Totenmaar. Miraculously, a cradle appeared on the surface, in which his child drifted safely to shore. The count's horse scraped a spring from the ground at the behest of his master. Later, the count built a chapel in gratitude for his child's salvation, which still preserves the spring.

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weinfelder_Maar
Wikidata ID:	Q2555914
GeoNames ID:	2812215

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