Kanupark Markkleeberg, built in 2006, is the second of two

artificial whitewater An artificial whitewater course is a site for whitewater canoeing, whitewater kayaking, whitewater racing, whitewater rafting, playboating and slalom canoeing with artificially generated rapids. Course types Main types of course: Flow div ...

canoe/kayak slalom courses in Germany, and the only one powered by pumps. The other German course is the

Eiskanal The ''Augsburg Eiskanal'' is an artificial whitewater river in Augsburg, Germany, constructed as the canoe slalom venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics in nearby Munich. The first artificial whitewater course of its kind, it introduced the sport ...

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

, used in the

1972 Summer Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Kanupark Markkleeberg is located on the southeast shore of

Markkleeberger See Markkleeberger See ''(in English: Lake Markkleeberg)'' is an artificial lake in Saxony, Germany, next to Markkleeberg, a suburb on the south side of Leipzig. At an elevation of 112.5 m, its surface area is 2.52 km2. It is a former open-pi ...

, a lake south of

Markkleeberg Markkleeberg () is an affluent suburb of Leipzig, located in the Leipzig district of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. The river Pleiße runs through the city, which borders Leipzig to the north and to the west. Markkleeberg is known to be th ...

, a suburb on the south side of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. A former open-pit coal mine, the lake was flooded in 1999 with groundwater and developed as a water recreation area. The lake is part of the Leipziger

Neuseenland Neuseenland is an area south of Leipzig, Germany, where old open-cast mines are being converted into a lake district. Neuseenland includes shares in the district of Leipzig, in the district of Nordsachsen and in the city of Leipzig. The lake netw ...

, the largest landscape construction project in Europe, which is reclaiming formerly barren industrial and mining sites for recreational use. The whitewater park was planned as part of Leipzig's bid to host the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, which were ultimately awarded to London. It was completed in time to serve as a training facility for the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. With movable plastic bollards serving as water diversion features, it was possible to rig the competition course to be a close duplicate of the one at Beijing's

Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park () was built for the Rowing at the 2008 Summer Olympics, rowing, Canoeing at the 2008 Summer Olympics, canoeing and Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics, 10 km open-water swimming events in the 2008 Summer ...

. Since formally opening in April 2007, the state-of-the-art Kanupark has hosted a full schedule of regional and international competitions. In 2010 it hosted the Junior and Under-23 European Championships. Kanupark Markkleeberg has two courses which loop in opposite directions from the pump house. Each loop has its own conveyor-belt boat lift. The north loop is a training course long, with a drop, a 1.4% slope of 13.8 m/km (73 ft/mile), and a streamflow of 4 to 14 m³/s (141 to 494 ft³/s). The south loop is the competition course with a length of , a drop, and a 2.1% slope of 21.1 m/km (111 ft/mile). With a streamflow of 4 to 18 m³/s (141 to 636 ft³/s), it generates class III-IV whitewater.
Venues, International Canoe Federation

References

External links

Website Kanupark Markkleeberg

Panoramic view

Kayak slalom video 1

Kayak slalom video 2

Kayaking Checklist
{{commons category, Kanupark Markkleeberg Artificial whitewater courses Markkleeberg Sports venues in Saxony