Five lakes in Brandenburg and Saxony are becoming a lake district

Five lakes in Lusatia are being connected to form a chain of lakes. Nearly 60 years after the first lake was flooded, Senftenberger See, Geierswalder See, Partwitzer See, Sedlitzer See, and Großräschener See are now (July 29) connected via navigable canals to form a single network.They were created from flooded open-pit mines, with Senftenberger See being the first.

About 150 guests from the worlds of politics, business, tourism, local governments, and public agencies—as well as Brandenburg’s Minister-President Dietmar Woidke (SPD) and Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer (CDU)—plan to celebrate the opening at Sedlitzer Lake (10:30 a.m.).

Five lakes are connected

The five large lakes—Senftenberger, Geierswalder, Partwitzer, Sedlitzer, and Großräschener—are being connected for the first time and are now navigable by boat, according to the Lausitzer Seenland Tourism Association.

According to the association, the combined water area of the interconnected lakes totals approximately 5,300 hectares. This is just under half the water area of Lake Müritz in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Until now, there were two navigable waterways in the region. On Monday, three additional navigable canals will open: the Sornoer Canal, the Rosendorfer Canal, and the Ilse Canal. There are plans to connect additional lakes via canals.