The Lusatian Lake District or Lausitzer Seenland lies in Brandenburg and Saxony in eastern Germany, between Berlin and Dresden. People call it Europe's largest artificial lake district.
The region has 23 lakes with a total water surface of about 14,000 hectares, or 140 square kilometres. That total will reach 144 square kilometres once the last lakes fill.
Every lake began as an open-cast lignite mine. Miners dug here from the second half of the nineteenth century and left huge pits behind.
After 1990, the region started turning those pits into lakes. Today visitors cycle, swim and sail where diggers once worked.
From Coal Pits to Lakes
After German reunification in 1990, authorities shut down many open-cast mines in eastern Germany. In Lusatia, LMBV, a company owned by the federal government, leads the restoration.
Lake Senftenberg came first. The Black Elster river flooded the former Niemtsch mine from 1967 to 1972, under the GDR, and the first beach opened in 1973.
Landscape architect Otto Rindt designed the lake and developed the idea of a Lusatian lake district. Later lakes such as Geierswalder See, Partwitzer See and Sedlitzer See followed.
Flooding uses water mainly from the Spree and Schwarze Elster rivers, with some from the Lausitzer Neiße. Limited water supply slows how fast the lakes fill.
LMBV also secured embankments and used water treatment to fight acidity. It keeps checking water quality, including pH and sulphate levels.
Canals, Trails and Landmarks
Canals now link several lakes. The Koschener Kanal, which opened in 2013, connects Senftenberger See and Geierswalder See through a lock and two tunnels, one under the B 96 road and one under the Schwarze Elster river.
Three more canals opened on 29 June 2026. Five lakes, Senftenberg, Geierswald, Partwitz, Sedlitz and Großräschen, now form one connected body of water of about 5,300 hectares.
The Ilse Canal leads to Lake Großräschen and crosses under several railway lines and a main road. Its tunnel measures 186 metres.
Lake Sedlitz covers 1,400 hectares, the largest body of water in the new network. Open land around it brings strong winds there and on neighbouring lakes.
The Seenland-Route cycle trail runs roughly 190 kilometres and passes 16 lakes. Sources give lengths from 186 to 191 kilometres, and the route stays mostly flat and largely paved.
Visitors try stand-up paddleboarding, windsurfing, motorboating and wakeboarding. Floating holiday homes sit on Geierswalder See and Partwitzer See.
Senftenberger See has about 7 kilometres of beaches along its 18-kilometre shoreline. The Rostiger Nagel, a 30-metre observation tower, stands at Sedlitzer See.
At Lichterfeld, the F60 overburden conveyor bridge stretches about 500 metres and rises about 80 metres. It now serves as a visitor mine.
Mining Has Not Ended
Lignite mining continues in Lusatia. The energy company LEAG runs four open-cast mines, and Lusatian mines produced 35 million tonnes in 2025.
German law requires lignite mining and power generation in Lusatia to end by 2038 at the latest. Mine water currently flows into the Spree, so the river's flow will drop sharply after mining stops.
That drop could cause serious water shortages downstream. The Cottbuser Ostsee started flooding in 2019 and will cover about 19 square kilometres.
Some lakes still fill, so the region keeps changing. Restoration work continues alongside active mining.
