The Lanker See is a lake in the region of Holstein Switzerland in North Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. It lies south of the town of Preetz

Preetz

Preetz is a town in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Northern Germany. In the town centre is a small lake, the Kirchsee.-History:...

 in the district of Plön, and is crossed from south to north by the River Schwentine.

The Lanker See has wealth of small bays.
Almost the entire western area from the lakeshore to the tracks of the Preetz-Ascheberg railway line are a nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

.

The Lanker See has a surface area of 323.6 hectares (1.2 sq mi), is up to 21 metres deep and is about .
It is divided into a large northern and a smaller southern part, that are joined by a passage a little more than 1 metre deep.
Without the islands its shore length is 17 km.
The Lanker See lies in the borough of Preetz and the municipalities of Kühren

Kühren

Kühren is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

, Wahlstorf and Schellhorn

Schellhorn

Schellhorn is a municipality in the district of Plön, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany....

.