Lusatian Lake District

The Lusatian Lake District[1][2][3] (German: Lausitzer Seenland, Lower Sorbian: Łužyska jazorina, Upper Sorbian: Łužiska jězorina) is a chain of artificial lakes under construction in Germany 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 the process of being transformed into Europe's largest artificial lake district.

The Lusatian Lake District lies in Lusatia between Calau in Brandenburg and Görlitz in Saxony.

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.

Around the city of Leipzig, a new lake district called the Central German Lake District is being developed, and there are other examples, such as the Bärwalder See and Berzdorfer See near the city of Görlitz in Upper Lusatia, or the Cottbuser Ostsee near Cottbus.