Overview
- On Monday the Sornoer, Rosendorfer and Ilse canals were opened to physically connect Senftenberger, Geierswalder, Partwitzer, Sedlitzer and Großräschener See into a single navigable lake network.
- Brandenburg’s and Saxony’s minister‑presidents, Dietmar Woidke and Michael Kretschmer, attended the inauguration and traveled to the ceremony by police boats.
- The LMBV described the linkage as a milestone and reported a combined water surface of about 5,100 hectares while the regional tourism association estimated roughly 5,300 hectares.
- Officials say the project repurposes flooded lignite pits to shift local economic activity from mining to recreation, with leaders pointing to new tourism businesses and jobs as immediate goals.
- The canal openings cap decades of mine remediation funded by federal and state money and planners say more canal links are planned to expand the Lausitz lake network.