The Großer Wannsee is a bight of the Havel

Havel

The Havel is a river in north-eastern Germany, flowing through the German states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe river and in length...

 river near the locality of Wannsee

Wannsee

Wannsee is a locality in the southwestern Berlin borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Germany. It is the westernmost locality of Berlin. In the quarter there are two lakes, the larger Großer Wannsee and the Kleiner Wannsee , are located on the river Havel and are separated only by the Wannsee bridge...

 and Nikolassee

Nikolassee

Nikolassee is a locality of Berlin in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf. Until the latter was created in 2001, Nikolassee was part of the borough of Zehlendorf.-History:...

 (in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf

Steglitz-Zehlendorf

Steglitz-Zehlendorf is the sixth borough of Berlin, formed in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Steglitz and Zehlendorf.-Demographics:...

), a south-western suburb of the German capital Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 not far from Potsdam

Potsdam

Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....

. At its borders is located the island of Schwanenwerder

Schwanenwerder

Schwanenwerder is an island in the Havel river in Berlin, Germany. It is in the locality of Nikolassee in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf, and is located in a wider stretch of the river, close to the eastern shore...

 and, opposite from the Greater Wannsee on the other side of the Havel, is the locality of Kladow

Kladow

-Geography:The district of Kladow is bordered by the District of Gatow to the north, by the Havel to the east and southeast and by the State of Brandenburg to the west and south west. The neighbouring village of Sacrow and main part of Groß Glienicke are located in Brandenburg...

 (in Spandau

Spandau

Spandau is the fifth of the twelve boroughs of Berlin. It is the fourth largest and westernmost borough, situated at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers and along the western bank of the Havel, but the least populated.-Overview:...

).

Overview

The Wannsee lake is well-known as the number-one bathing and recreation spot for western Berlin, especially from a 1951 Schlager

Schlager

Schlager music is a style of popular music prevalent in Central and Northern Europe and the Balkans and also in France and Poland. In Portugal, it was adapted and became pimba music...

 hit by teen idol

Teen idol

A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...

 Cornelia Froboess

Cornelia Froboess

Cornelia Froboess is a German actress and a teen idol of the 1950s and early 1960s. During that time, Froboess appeared in many musical films, especially after the rock and roll wave had hit Germany...

. The Strandbad Wannsee

Strandbad Wannsee

The Strandbad Wannsee is an open-air lido on the eastern shore of the Wannsee in Berlin, Germany, the largest inland lido in Europe, with a beach that is 1,275 metres long and 80 metres wide, widened with sand from the German shore of the Baltic Sea. The entire ensemble is listed as Cultural...

, an open-air lido with one of the longest inland beaches in Europe and a popular nudist

Naturism

Naturism or nudism is a cultural and political movement practising, advocating and defending social nudity in private and in public. It may also refer to a lifestyle based on personal, family and/or social nudism....

 area, was built in 1920-1930 after a concept by architect Richard Ermisch

Richard Ermisch

Richard Ermisch was a German architect, painter and graphic designer. From 1903 to 1906, he attended the 'Kö­nig­li­che Preu­ßi­sche Bau­ge­werk­schule' at Erfurt...

. Situated on the eastern shore of the lake it is officially part of the Nikolassee

Nikolassee

Nikolassee is a locality of Berlin in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf. Until the latter was created in 2001, Nikolassee was part of the borough of Zehlendorf.-History:...

locality.