The body of water is located entirely within the town of Malchow, is 2.36 km² in size[1] and merges with Fleesensee in the east and Lake Petersdorf in the west via the section of the Elde river known as the Recken.

A wooden bridge led from the eastern shore to the island until it was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War.

[3] In 1846, the newly built embankment dam (Erddamm (Malchow)) replaced the ferry connection.

The water level has changed several times over the centuries, mainly due to human intervention.

The water levels within the chain of lakes from Müritz to Plauer See were influenced in several positive and negative steps by damming for the operation of mills and by river regulation.