Germany · lake bathing waters
Lake swimming in Germany: 2025 water quality
Germany reported 1,893 lake bathing waters for the 2025 season. 91.8% were classified Excellent — 0.9 points above the 90.9% for all 2,291 bathing waters in the country — and 3 were Poor. 1,403 sites have been Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025. Among the 19 countries with at least 30 lake bathing waters, Germany ranks 4 by Excellent share.
1,893
lake bathing waters
91.8%
Excellent in 2025
3
Poor in 2025
Annual, not live: the 2025 class summarises several seasons of sampling. It does not show today’s pollution, algae or bans.
Find the nearest Excellent lake to you →
Map of lake bathing waters
Excellent 1,738Good 98Sufficient 18Poor 3Not classified 36
How lake bathing waters in Germany rated since 2015
Counts for the sites in today’s 2025 inventory; the Excellent share is calculated over classified sites only.
| Season | Classified | Excellent | Excellent share | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,857 | 1,738 | 93.6% | 3 |
| 2024 | 1,854 | 1,723 | 92.9% | 5 |
| 2023 | 1,847 | 1,718 | 93% | 4 |
| 2022 | 1,838 | 1,711 | 93.1% | 9 |
| 2021 | 1,837 | 1,716 | 93.4% | 8 |
| 2020 | 1,800 | 1,707 | 94.8% | 4 |
| 2019 | 1,817 | 1,732 | 95.3% | 3 |
| 2018 | 1,803 | 1,736 | 96.3% | 3 |
| 2017 | 1,802 | 1,712 | 95% | 4 |
| 2016 | 1,794 | 1,707 | 95.2% | 3 |
| 2015 | 1,789 | 1,701 | 95.1% | 2 |
Most consistent Excellent lakes
1,403 sites were Excellent in all eleven seasons. Ordered by the length of the unbroken Excellent run ending in 2025; the first 60 are shown.
- AARTAL SEE 11 seasons
- ABTSDORFER SEE SAALDORF SURHEIM 11 seasons
- ACHERN ACHERNSEE 11 seasons
- AGGERTALSPERRE FREIBAD BRUCH 11 seasons
- AGGERTALSPERRE LANTENBACH CAMPINGPLATZ 11 seasons
- AHRENSEE ACHTERWEHR 11 seasons
- ALATSEE FUESSEN NORDUFER 11 seasons
- ALBERSSEE SUEDSTRAND 11 seasons
- ALBERTINESEE 11 seasons
- ALBRECHTSHAINER SEE 11 seasons
- ALFDORF EISENBACHSEE 11 seasons
- ALFSEE DUBBELAU SEE 11 seasons
- ALLENSBACH CAMPING UBADEPLATZ 11 seasons
- ALLERMOEHER SEE NORD SPITZE 11 seasons
- ALPSEE SCHWANGAU BADEPLATZ ALPSEE 11 seasons
- ALTE WESER IN DREYE 11 seasons
- ALTENHEIM BAGGERSEE FOHLENGARTEN 11 seasons
- ALTGLASHUETTEN WINDGFAELLWEIHER 11 seasons
- ALTLUSSHEIM BLAUSEE 11 seasons
- ALTMAINSEE EBENSFELD 11 seasons
- ALTMUEHLSEE GUNZENHAUSEN SCHLUNGENHOF SEEZENTRUM SCHLUNGENHOF 11 seasons
- ALTMUEHLSEE GUNZENHAUSEN WALD SEEZENTRUM WALD 11 seasons
- ALTMUEHLSEE MUHR ASEE SEEZENTRUM MUHR 11 seasons
- ALTSHAUSEN ALTER WEIHER 11 seasons
- ALTWARMBUECHENER SEE ISERNHAGEN 11 seasons
- ALTWARMBUECHENER SEE LHH 11 seasons
- ALVESER SEE EITZENDORF 11 seasons
- AMMELSHAINER SEE 11 seasons
- AMMERSEE DIESSEN AAMMERSEE DIESSEN STRANDBAD WESTUFER 11 seasons
- AMMERSEE DIESSEN AAMMERSEE RIEDERAU STRANDBAD WESTUFER 11 seasons
- AMMERSEE ECHING AAMMERSEE ECHING FREIZEITGELAENDE WESTUFER 11 seasons
- AMMERSEE HERRSCHING HERRSCHINGER BUCHT 11 seasons
- AMMERSEE PAEHL AIDENRIED BOOTSSTEG OSTSEITE 11 seasons
- AMMERSEE SCHONDORF AAMMERSEE SCHONDORF CAFE FORSTER WESTUFER 11 seasons
- AMMERSEE UTTING AAMMERSEE UTTING STRANDBAD WESTUFER 11 seasons
- ANGELBERGER BADEWEIHER ZOLLING 11 seasons
- ANGELHOFER ALTRHEIN CAMPINGPLATZ 11 seasons
- ARENDSEE BST SCHRAMPE 11 seasons
- ARENDSEE BST STRANDBAD 11 seasons
- ARENHOLZER SEE LUERSCHAU 11 seasons
- ARGENBUEHL BUCHWEIHER SIGGEN 11 seasons
- AUESEE RETTUNGSINSEL 11 seasons
- AULENDORF STEEGERSEE 11 seasons
- AUTOBAHNSEE AUGSBURG 11 seasons
- AUWALDSEE LAUINGEN DONAU WESTUFER 11 seasons
- BAD LANGENBRUECKEN AEUSSERES FISCHWASSER 11 seasons
- BAD SCHUSSENRIED OLZREUTHER SEE 11 seasons
- BAD SCHUSSENRIED ZELLER SEE 11 seasons
- BAD WIESMUEHLE GLONN 11 seasons
- BADE UND PADDELTEICH KOTHEN MOTTEN KOTHEN BADESTEG 11 seasons
- BADESEE BAD ERNA SCHOENBORN OT LINDENA HAUPTTEICH 11 seasons
- BADESEE BENSHEIM 11 seasons
- BADESEE BRANDIS AIR FORCE BEACH BRANDIS 11 seasons
- BADESEE BURGWALLBACH SCHOENAU ADBREND BURGWALLBACH WESTUFER 11 seasons
- BADESEE CAMPINGPLATZ BRUMUND CONNEFORDE 11 seasons
- BADESEE CAMPINGPLATZ DELGER NORDLOH 11 seasons
- BADESEE CAMPINGPLATZ HASELUENNE 11 seasons
- BADESEE DIXFOERDA 11 seasons
- BADESEE ECHTZ 11 seasons
- BADESEE EFFELD AM STRAND 11 seasons
Lakes rated Poor in 2025
- BAD WURZACH METZISWEILERWEIHER Poor in 3 of 11 classified seasons
- BADESEE SCHIESSTAL Poor in 1 of 1 classified seasons
- RIEMER SEE MUENCHEN NORDUFER BADESTRAND Poor in 1 of 1 classified seasons
Changes from 2024 to 2025
Improved (51)
- EGGENSTEIN BAGGERSEE Sufficient → Excellent
- INSELSEE DLRG STATION Sufficient → Excellent
- ACHTERDIEKSEE Poor → Sufficient
- AMMERSEE INNING INNING STEGEN Good → Excellent
- AMTSZELL SINGENBERGER WEIHER Good → Excellent
- BADEINSEL IM STEINHUDER MEER Sufficient → Good
- BADESEE KAPUSCH HUECKELHOVEN AM STRAND Good → Excellent
- BADESEE LECHFELD AINDLING NORDUFER Good → Excellent
Declined (37)
- STEINHAEUSERWUEHLSEE Excellent → Sufficient
- WEITMANNSEE KISSING OSTUFER Excellent → Sufficient
- BADESTELLE GLISSEN KLEINENHEERSE Excellent → Good
- BADESTRAND WEISSE DUENE MARDORF Excellent → Good
- BADEWEIHER NEUHOFEN Excellent → Good
- BLENDER SEE Excellent → Good
- BRUEHL BAGGERSEE KOLLERINSEL Excellent → Good
- EISERBACHSEE FREIBAD SCHWIMMER Excellent → Good
Lake bathing waters by state
| State | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bavaria | 378 | 93.1% | 1 |
| Baden-Württemberg | 308 | 90.3% | 2 |
| Brandenburg | 238 | 96.2% | 0 |
| Lower Saxony | 213 | 89.2% | 0 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 158 | 93.7% | 0 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 148 | 91.9% | 0 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 114 | 90.4% | 0 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 71 | 90.1% | 0 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 66 | 89.4% | 0 |
| Hesse | 61 | 95.1% | 0 |
| Thuringia | 39 | 92.3% | 0 |
| Berlin | 38 | 100% | 0 |
| Saxony | 32 | 81.3% | 0 |
| Hamburg | 15 | 86.7% | 0 |
States with at least three lake bathing waters; counts include only this water type.
Near which major cities?
Sites within 60 km (straight line) of a major city covered by our city guides:
- Berlin 156 lake bathing waters within 60 km
- Munich 129 lake bathing waters within 60 km
- Hamburg 77 lake bathing waters within 60 km
- Zurich 33 lake bathing waters within 60 km
- Luxembourg 3 lake bathing waters within 60 km
Lakes compared across Europe
| # | Country | Sites | Excellent | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austria | 254 | 96.9% | 1 |
| 2 | Finland | 211 | 95.7% | 0 |
| 3 | Denmark | 123 | 94.3% | 0 |
| 4 | Germany | 1,893 | 91.8% | 3 |
| 5 | Lithuania | 80 | 91.3% | 0 |
| 6 | Czechia | 62 | 90.3% | 0 |
| 7 | Portugal | 49 | 89.8% | 1 |
| 8 | Italy | 673 | 88.4% | 5 |
| 9 | France | 845 | 86.7% | 15 |
| 10 | Switzerland | 135 | 86.7% | 4 |
| 11 | Sweden | 210 | 82.4% | 6 |
| 12 | Estonia | 30 | 80% | 0 |
| 13 | Spain | 109 | 79.8% | 4 |
| 14 | Belgium | 77 | 79.2% | 1 |
| 15 | Netherlands | 587 | 70.5% | 26 |
| 16 | Slovakia | 40 | 70% | 0 |
| 17 | Hungary | 247 | 69.6% | 3 |
| 18 | Croatia | 34 | 67.6% | 0 |
| 19 | Poland | 489 | 60.1% | 5 |
Countries with at least 30 lake bathing waters. Networks differ in size and in how sites are designated, so this is a descriptive comparison, not a safety ranking.
Quick answers
- How many lake bathing waters in Germany are rated Excellent?
- 1,738 of 1,893 (91.8%) in the 2025 EEA classification.
- Which lakes in Germany have the best long-term record?
- 1,403 sites were Excellent in every season from 2015 to 2025, for example AARTAL SEE, ABTSDORFER SEE SAALDORF SURHEIM, ACHERN ACHERNSEE. See the full list.
- Can I check current conditions?
- The annual class is not a live status. Current results and bans are published on Bathing-water quality (UBA, links to all states). Each site page on BathingWaterFinder also shows a weather forecast, including heavy-rain warnings.
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