Uddeler Lake - Uddel

Somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 years ago, Uddeler Lake came into existence. This was during the last ice age. An ice mound collapsed when the earth warmed up. Such a collapsed ice mound is also known as a pingorui. Lake Uddelermeer is one of the largest pingoruins in the Netherlands and therefore unique in its kind. The hole that came into being was filled with water over time, creating a lake. This is all the more special because the groundwater is much lower in the dry sandy soil of the Veluwe.

Traces found indicate that people already lived here in prehistoric times. Next to Lake Uddeler, the Hunneschans was built in the Middle Ages. It is still visible. There are legends about both historical phenomena.

It is said that Donar, the god of thunder, was behind the creation of Uddeler Lake and the nearby Bleeke Lake. Donar was fighting a poisonous giant snake. He struck the snake's head, whereupon he lost his hammer. The snake and the hammer crashed down, hitting a hole in the ground seven miles deep. The poisonous breath of the snake came up through the impact and reached Donar. He was so intoxicated by the poison that Donar fell out of his chariot and fell to the ground beside the snake. Thus the second hole was created. The hole into which the snake and hammer fell was called Uttiloch (Uddeler Lake) and the other was called Lake of the Gods or White Lake (Bleeke Lake).

According to legend, giants lived on the Veluwe at the same time. The giant of Uddel was startled in his sleep by loud thunder and violent crackling. The thunder god Donar, the arch-enemy of the giants, rode past with a deafening noise. He smashed the giant's bread oven with a single sledgehammer blow. The edge of the oven was all that was left and we can still see it today as the Hunneschans.