The Lusatian Lake Distric is a chain of artificial lakes in Germany, situated across the north-eastern part of Saxony and the southern part of Brandenburg. Through flooding as a part of an extensive regeneration programme, several decommissioned lignite opencast mines are in process to be transformed to Europe’s largest artificial lake district by 2018.
Since the end of the 19th century, the area has been an industrial region, producing lignite and electricity. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, it was decided to end this long tradition because of the dwindling quantity of lignite and the heavy pollution of the surrounding environment. Although mining continues and some big power stations continue to produce electricity with it, all industrial activity should cease by 2020.
Since the 1970s, some of the old pits left by the mining process have been transformed into a new landscape formerly unknown in this region. What was once a plain overgrown with heather and a few trees is now a lake district comparable to the Mecklenburg Lake Plateau in Mecklenburg or the Masurian Lakeland in Poland. It all began with the creation of the Knappensee and the Senftenberger See, still one of the biggest lakes in the region.
Further lakes have already been established, and plans for over twenty more large lakes have been drawn up. Lakes that have already been created include:
in the north: the Gräbendörfer See, Altdöberner See and Bergheiner See
in the centre: the Senftenberger See, Ilsesee, Sedlitzer See, Partwitzer See, Geierswalder See, Neuwieser See, Blunoer Südsee, Sabrodter See, Bergener See and Spreetaler See
in the south: the Bernsteinsee, Scheibesee, Dreiweibner See, Speicherbecken Lohse II, Silbersee/Mortkasee, Knappensee and Graureihersee.
[responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has since then undergone seve...
