You thought the Brandenburg landscape couldn’t get any more beautiful or diverse? You were wrong. In addition to a large wilderness area, donut-shaped lakes, and an 181-hectare forest valley, that’s far from the end of the region’s natural treasures. We’re already familiar with special lakes strung together and those with unusual shapes —but 23 artificial lakes spanning 14,000 hectares of water? That’s exactly what’s currently under construction and is set to be completed by summer 2026. This will create Europe’s largest lake landscape in eastern Germany, in the Lusatia region between Brandenburg and Saxony.
A unique project in Europe! In the past, over two billion tons of lignite were mined in this region—leaving behind massive craters in the landscape. Since the 1990s, these have been gradually flooded and transformed. As a result, the former open-pit mining area is now evolving into a modern vacation region with harbors, canals, and campgrounds. Without targeted flooding, however, it would take 80 to 100 years for the lakes to fill naturally.
The project is taking on gigantic proportions: a total of ten lakes are to be connected by canals, creating a continuously navigable water area of around 7,000 hectares. Thirteen navigable canals are planned for this purpose, some of which have already been completed. Ultimately, the total water area is expected to cover approximately 144 square kilometers —making it almost as large as the famous Lake Como.
The costs are also enormous: so far, around seven billion euros have been invested, and total expenditures amount to approximately 13.8 billion euros. The creation of a single lake costs between 200 and 600 million euros. The project is financed 75 percent by the federal government and 25 percent by the federal states.
The lakes serve far more than just tourist purposes. They also function as important water reservoirs for rivers and contribute to the ecological stabilization of the region —especially in times of increasing drought. An important milestone will be reached in 2026: On June 29, five large lakes, including Lake Senftenberg and Lake Sedlitz, are scheduled to be connected. This will create a contiguous body of water spanning approximately 5,000 hectares, which can be traversed by boat over a distance of about 50 kilometers.
A special highlight is Lake Sedlitz, which will open in April 2026. With an area of around 1,400 hectares, it will be the region’s largest recreational lake and is also considered the final major component of the project. Tourism is also already showing a significant upturn: In 2025, around 800,000 overnight stays were recorded— the Czech market, in particular, is growing strongly. The long-term goal is to reach up to 1.5 million overnight stays per year.
