Laacher See

Laacher See or Laach Lake is a volcanic caldera lake with a diameter of 2km in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, about 24km northwest of Koblenz and 37km south of Bonn, and is closest to the town of Andernach situated 8km to the east on the river Rhine. It is in the Eifel mountain range, and is part of the East Eifel volcanic field within the larger Vulkaneifel. The lake was formed by a Plinian eruption approximately 12,900 years ago with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6, on the same scale as the Pinatubo eruption of 1991.DescriptionThe lake is oval in shape, and surrounded by high banks. The lava was quarried for millstones from the Roman period until the introduction of iron rollers for grinding corn.On the western side lies the Benedictine monastery of Maria Laach Abbey (Abbatia Lacensis), founded in 1093 by Henry II of Laach of the House of Luxembourg, first Count Palatine of the Rhine, who had his castle opposite to the monastery above the eastern lakeside.