Chang­ing land­scapes: before and after

Huge expanses of water shim­mer in the sun, fam­i­lies are set­ting out on a bike ride, stand-up pad­dlers are doing their laps and boats are sail­ing on the lake. This scene in the Lusa­t­ian Lake­land today was an infi­nitely dis­tant dream just a few decades ago. The lunar land­scapes of the for­mer open­cast mines between Berlin and Dres­den have been trans­formed into an attrac­tive travel des­ti­na­tion. Once com­pleted, the Lusa­t­ian Lake­land will be the biggest man-made water­scape in Europe, with more than 20 flooded lakes and nav­i­ga­ble canals.

The Lusa­t­ian Lake­land is no ordi­nary travel des­ti­na­tion – it is a rapidly chang­ing land­scape. Before-and-after pho­tographs illus­trate how this for­mer lig­nite-min­ing region is trans­form­ing into a hol­i­day par­adise.

Lake Sen­ften­berg

Lake Bärwalde

Lake Bergheide

Lake Grossräschen

Lake Partwitz

Lake Drei­weibern

Lake Spree­tal