Germany completes Europe's largest artificial lake landscape from former coal mines

Completion of Lusatian Lakeland

Eastern Germany's Lusatian Lakeland, a large complex of artificial lakes formed from disused coal mines, has reached completion. This decades-long project transforms the region into a significant water landscape, comparable in size to Italy's Lake Como.

Lake Sedlitz, the final lake in the 14,000-hectare complex, will open for swimming and boating by the end of this month. This marks a new milestone for the area located between Berlin and Dresden.

Transformation from Mining Landscape

During the German Democratic Republic (GDR) era, over two billion tonnes of lignite were extracted from depths exceeding 60 meters, leaving large craters. The transformation began in 1967 with the flooding of Lake Senftenberg.

The Lusatian Lakeland now comprises 23 human-made post-mining lakes. Without this project, Lusatia would have remained a region with few natural lakes due to its permeable gravel and sand landscape.

Scale and Future Development

The Lusatian Lakeland covers a total water surface area of 14,000 hectares. Plans include connecting ten of these lakes with canals for leisure boating, aiming for a continuously navigable water area of 7,000 hectares.

Four of the 13 planned navigable canals are complete, with six more under construction. The Lausitz and Central-German Mining Administration Company (LMBV) is responsible for the rehabilitation and flooding of these former open-cast mines.