The Lake at Haraldsted - Blue Flag Beach
Haraldsted Lake meanders over approximately 5 km (with an area of about 200 ha) through narrow passages. The lake is characterized by having steep slopes very close to the shoreline.
Around Haraldsted Lake, there is a variety of different natural habitats. The large variation in wet, dry, open, and shaded environments allows you to see and experience many different animals and plants.
The lake's average depth is about 5 meters, with the greatest depth being around 11 meters. In the western and eastern parts, there are larger, shallow areas (about 1 meter deep) with adjacent meadows, as reported by the Anglers’ Association.
On the northern side, you'll find Vrangeskov and Haraldsted Forest (known as the site of the murder of Knud Lavard in 1131). At the northern shore, at the eastern end of the lake, are two motte-and-bailey castles, Valsømagle and Nygård (also known as Ridebanen – Valsøgård).
The narrow, elongated lake lies in the bottom of an old meltwater valley from the Ice Age. Originally, there was only one lake, but when the City of Copenhagen began extracting drinking water from the lake in the 1970s, the smaller lake (Tivolisøen) was separated by a dam. Until 2009, the City of Copenhagen had permission to extract up to 15 billion liters of water annually from Haraldsted Lake. However, the lake mainly functioned as a reserve.
To ensure high water quality, neither fertilizer nor weed control has been used in the area for more than 40 years, and the lake's shores are lush and rich in both plants and animals.