Schladitzer See ''(in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: Lake Schladitz)'' is an artificial

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

Landkreis Nordsachsen Nordsachsen (, ) is a district ('' Kreis'') in Saxony, Germany. History The district was established by merging the former districts of Delitzsch and Torgau-Oschatz as part of the district reform of August 2008. On 10 December 2009 the distri ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. At an elevation of , its surface area is 2.18 km². The lake is a part of the

Central German Lake District The Central German Lake District (''German:'' Mitteldeutsches Seenland) is a group of artificial lakes that are the result of extensive open pit lignite mining. The area around Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous ci ...

. It was flooded from 1999 to 2012.

Genesis

The lake was developed from the former Breitenfeld

opencast Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or ro ...

lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...

mine where coal mining began in 1986. In 1986, the

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

of Lössen fell victim to the development. From 1989 to 1991, the municipality of Schladitz, after which the lake is named, was cleared and demolished. This also affected the Schladitz locality of Kömmlitz. After 1990, sales of raw lignite and lignite products deteriorated so much that various opencast mines, which were now unprofitable, were shut down. The former municipality of Schladitz remained unaffected by the mining. Plans that envisaged an expansion of the Breitenfeld opencast mine to the northern outskirts 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 ...

and the relocation of the

Bundesautobahn 14 is an autobahn in eastern Germany. The route comprises two disconnected sections: * The old A 241. A North–south route in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern which runs from Wismar to Schwerin. * The original A 14. A West–east route whi ...

were no longer implemented.

Usage

The Schladitzer See is used as a

bathing lake A bathing lake is a natural or artificial lake that is used for public bathing and swimming. In the water, bathers mostly remain close to the shore and use the area for recreational purposes, such as sport, games and sunbathing. In Europe, becaus ...

and

water sports Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms ...

center since 2003. Bathing has been permitted in two bathing areas since 2003, after the embankment was strengthened. The use of the lake began years before the planned final water level of above sea level was reached. The Wolteritz bathing beach on the Wolteritz side of the lake (the northwest side) was set up as a local bathing area for the local population due to its close proximity to the Wolteritz area according to the principle of "guidance for visitors instead of prohibition signs". Since August 2003 there are four

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

courts suitable for tournaments at ''Schladitzer Bucht'' (Schladitz Bay) on the Schladitz side of the lake (the southeast side). Since then,

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

beach handball Beach handball is a team sport where two teams pass and bounce or roll a ball, trying to throw it in the goal of the opposing team. The game is similar to standard handball, but it is played on sand instead of on a solid floor. Because the ball ...

and

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

tournaments are held regularly during the season. Among other things, the qualification for the German championships in beach volleyball, the „Sachsenmasters“, is held here. The Schladitz Bay was managed by a water sports school from June 2003 and from 2013 it was expanded into a sports resort with water sports offers and courses, accommodation and camping. The association ''Haynaer Strandverein e.V.'' develops the beach on its shore into the

Biedermeier The Biedermeier period was an era in Central European art and culture between 1815 and 1848 during which the middle classes grew in number and artists began producing works appealing to their sensibilities. The period began with the end of th ...

beach, the music and theater club from the

Krostitz Krostitz is a municipality in the district of Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for its brewery which brews Ur-Krostitzer beer. History King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden stayed here in 1631 before the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631) ...

locality Priester is a frequent guest. Various concerts and plays are held annually on the Hayna Lake Stage. Restaurants are available on all three beaches. Since 2005 there is an long, paved circular path that is used by

skaters Skater may refer to: Sports *Someone who practices skateboarding *Someone who practices roller skating *Someone who practices inline skating * Someone who practices ice skating *An ice hockey player who is not a goaltender *Skater (subculture), ...

cyclists Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world for pur ...

and hikers. There are also connections to the Werbeliner See and to the tall wheel of the

bucket-wheel excavator A bucket-wheel excavator (BWE) is a large heavy equipment machine used in surface mining. Their primary function is that of a continuous digging machine in large-scale open-pit mining operations, removing thousands of tons of overburden a day. Wh ...

SR 6300 in Gerbisdorf.

Traffic

The

(exit ramps Leipzig-Nord or Leipzig-Mitte) as well as the

Bundesstraße 2 The Bundesstraße 2 (abbr. B2) is a German federal highway, running some 1000 kilometres from the Polish border near Gartz to the Austrian border near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. From north to south; it passes through major cities such as Berlin ...

and the

Bundesstraße 184 ''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways. Germany Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of about 40,000 km. German ''Bundesstraßen'' are labelled with re ...

connect Lake Schladitz to the national transport network. There was no public transport connection before 2022, when a driverless bus began to run between Schladitzer Bucht and Rackwitz S-Bahn station on the Leipzig-Bitterfeld railway line. Due to a well-developed network of

cycle paths Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in ...

, the lake is also very easy to reach by bike. The long cycle path from

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

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 ...

under the name ''Kohle-Dampf-Licht-Seen'' (coal-steam-light-lakes) leads along the lake. The lake is about east of the northern

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

Leipzig/Halle Airport Leipzig/Halle Airport is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany, and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. It is a state-owned enterprise and allows 24 hour take off and landing for cargo flights. In ...

in the approach lane, so aircraft fly low over the southern part of the lake.

References

External links

* * , Guide for divers * {{Cite web , title=Biedermeierstrand , url=https://biedermeierstrand.de/ , access-date=2025-05-03 , website=biedermeierstrand.de , language=de, Website of the association Haynaer Strandverein e.V. Lakes of Saxony Nordsachsen Mining in Saxony Schkeuditz