Antholzersee, translated Lake of Antholz in English, is the third largest Lake in South Tyrol, in Italy. Surrounded by mountain peaks, it is one of the most picturesque places in the Dolomites which we saw. When we reached this viewing point, we almost felt overwhelmed by the silence and yeah…the fresh air, which at a height of 1642 meters over the sea level, was not so easy to breathe.
The legend says that in the place of Lake Antholz in South Tyrol, there once were three prosperous farms. One day a beggar asked the people who lived on those farms for help and every one of them rejected him and turned their faces away. The beggar then cursed the farms and said that the fields where the houses stood would become a new spring spurt. Exactly 3 days later, the spring indeed flooded the farms, and this brought Antholz Lake into existence.
The Antholzersee occupies 44 hectares of land and is 34 meters deep. The turquoise waters invite you to take a dive or even to admire its beauty whilst mountain hiking. Unfortunately, on this day that we visited, it was raining and so we weren’t courageous enough to swim or hike in such weather conditions, especially doing so in mountains that we just were not familiar with. The hike around the Antholz Lake, however, remains a must on our to-do list.
