Lungernsee

Lungernsee is the lake people photograph from the Brunig road, a long turquoise strip under wooded slopes with the village at one end and a church tower that features in most of the pictures. Its history is unusual: between 1836 and 1861 the community drove a tunnel to lower the natural lake by more than thirty metres and expose farmland along the shore, a huge undertaking for a small commune and one that nearly bankrupted it. Since 1921 it has served as a reservoir and the level is managed, which means the shoreline moves through the year and the lake can look markedly different between spring and autumn. A cable car climbs from Lungern to Schonbuel and Turren above.

What you actually see

• Turquoise water under wooded slopes - the standard Brunig-road view.
• A lake lowered by hand - a tunnel dug 1836-1861 to win farmland.
• A managed reservoir level - the shoreline moving through the year.
• The Turren cable car - the lift to the terrace above the village.

When to go

May to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Reservoir drawdown can leave wide muddy margins and a much smaller lake than photographs show, usually late winter and spring. The main road runs along the shore, so it is not quiet. The water is cold.

Nearby

The Brunig Pass is south; Melchsee-Frutt is over the ridge east.