Die alte Lichtensee
Please note: This page was machine-translated. If anything is unclear, the German version is authoritative.
The name of today's town of Lichtensee comes from a large depression on the edge of the Gohrischheide heath – “die alte Lichtensee”.
Handwritten records in the chronicle of the town of Lichtensee state: "Lichtensee, formerly consisting of only a few houses, was located northwest of today's town in the field and forest area known as ‘die alte Lichtensee’.
Today, it is still a wet, marshy area with a pool of water that very rarely dries up. Today's Lichtensee is located between former marshlands, slightly elevated in the landscape.“
”The old Lichtensee" is located at approx. 92 meters above sea level, which is 3 meters lower in the landscape than the neighboring villages of Heidehäuser and Lichtensee. As a result, floodwater from the Röder river (via the Steig and Brandgraben ditches), surface water from the fields west of Lichtensee, and high groundwater levels accumulate in the depression at the edge of the Gohrischheide, consisting of “Stollens Loch” on Mühlberger Straße and the “old Lichtensee” further north. During dry periods, “Die alte Lichtensee” carries no water.
From the commemorative publication, 700 Years of Lichtensee 1984
"Long before Lichtensee was first mentioned in documents, our area was already settled. Although it is no longer possible to determine exactly which tribes lived here, we can safely assume that Slavs inhabited our area in around the 8th century.
A border wall, known as the Teufelsgraben (Devil's Ditch), stretched from Fichtenberg, between Nieska and Heidehäuser, past Lichtensee to Koselitz. It was originally the border between the settlement areas of the Hermanduri and Semnones (Germanic and Slavic tribes). According to legend, it was created by the devil.
Our village most likely takes its name from a lake that is mentioned in a document and referred to as the “great lake.” Records in the chronicle indicate that the lake received its water from the Röder, which often overflowed when the water level was high. The lake stretched from the so-called “Busch” near Tiefenau to the eastern end of our village and, when the water level was high enough, even between Lichtensee and Heidehäuser to the “old Lichtensee” at the edge of the military training area.
Just 150 years ago, it was reported:
“Depending on whether the water level of the Röder is higher or lower, the lake also shows a larger or smaller water level, which spreads cleanly and ‘lightly’ (brightly) across the meadowland. Hence the name ”Lichtensee" (Light Lake). Due to natural silting up and improved drainage and cultivation, the lake gradually shrunk and eventually disappeared.
“Leuschners Loch” are the last remnants of the “light lake,” which can still be found at the eastern end of our village today. The old seal with the light in the lake and the two plowshares indicate that centuries ago, agriculture was the main source of income for our ancestors."
Compiled by: Jens Kraze, Lichtensee
Fotos: Jens Kraze