Acorn Hollow Switzerland – Saint Leonard Underground Lake

On Sunday May 9, we decided to held our first family Acorn Hollow activity here in Switzerland. The chosen site for our activity was not very far from our home, but it is a beautiful place, visited by people from the whole world: the Saint Leonard Underground Lake.

I have visited many times this lake during my childhood but this is the first time that Mylene and Ethel will see it. Mylene was very excited to go to small boat.

After a good lunch, it’s Mother Day here, we took the car and took the direction of St. Leonard, a little village of the plain of Rhone.

The Saint Leonard underground lake (Lac souterrain de Saint-Leonard in French) is located at Saint Leonard in the canton of Valais. With a length of 300 meters and a width of 20 meters it is the largest underground lake in Europe.

History of the lake:

Although no writing could confirm it, the existence of the cavity is known for a long time, while St. Leonard was still only a small hamlet withdrawn in a valley almost isolated from the rest of the world.

The mystery of the cave was never able to persuade anyone to venture inside, even later when the winegrowers came to refresh their drinks in the quiet water sinking into the depths of the earth. The first visit of the lake was made in spring 1943 by two brave members of the Swiss Society of Speleology. Using a rubber dinghy they cross the water throughout its length and landed on the beach from the bottom. They were amazed by the breadth and beauty of the cave. The following year, soldiers specializing in “groundwater’s” reconnaissance perform the complete topographic reading of the cavity.

In 1946, an earthquake (magnitude 5.6 on the Richter scale (the epicentre was in the area of the Rawil near my home) causes additional fissures, particularly in the bottom of the lake, causing greater loss of water escaping the cave to empty into the groundwater.

The cracks are gradually clogged with the small parts of the bottom (clay, dissolved gypsum etc. ).

Since 1949, the lake is made accessible to the public.

Some legends regarding this lake:

Long ago a young man had gone near the entrance to the underground lake which to lay traps. Seeing some strange leaves like petrified, he picked up one a and suddenly the cave blew, rippling the waters of Lake … Which was not the surprise of the man when he saw two “gold coins” in his hands instead of the leaf. Unfortunately for all those who tried to renew experience, nothing similar occurred any more.

It is also said that at the same epoch, the maidens in age to get married could see appearing on the dark water, the picture of their future spouse and this only in the evening from December 24th at midnight.

Once to the place, we boarded in a small boat with an English family to visit the lake. The girls were very impressed by the darkness, but they quickly got used to it. It was also the first time which they took up on a small boat and they really enjoyed. This is a really beautiful place. The clear water allows to observe the numerous rainbow trout that inhabit the lake. These trout were established by the man in the lake because they serve for controlling the quality of the water. They are also fed by humans and therefore they achieve impressive sizes. The guide told us of a trout that had reached 7 kg. The visit of the lake lasted about 30 minutes. During all the visit a guide gave us explanation about the lake, its history, it’s shaping, it’s legends etc. It was really interesting and informative.

So we spent a great afternoon together. The girls have really enjoyed the small boat and the lake’s visit. They were also very happy to see the trout.

Well, if one day you come to visit my beautiful canton don’t hesitate to visit this beautiful lake. I’m sure you will enjoyed your visit.

FFF/HTR

Seb AOR

Tags: acorn hollow, day trips, lake, Switzerland

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