Project 12: Lake Sedlitz water sports centre

Watersport free

Thirty lakes are presently being created in the Lusatian Lake Land – each a new travel destination needing an identity of its own. On the north bank of the Lake Sedlitz, there is a plan to build and maintain water vehicles of all kinds, thereby combining tourism and commercial production.

INITIAL SITUATION

Lignite has been mined in the Sedlitz trench for almost sixty years, from the nineteen-twenties onwards. Over the long period it was in operation, it ultimately became one of the largest open-cast mines in the region – its land use was more than 2,600 hectares. While the mine was in operation, »worked-out« areas were filled in using spoil from other parts of the mine and recultivated for agricultural and forestry purposes. However, the closure of the mine still left behind a huge »residual hole« over 1,300 hectares wide, which is presently being flooded. By 2015, the Sedlitz residual cavity will have become the Lake Sedlitz.

THE PROJECT’S PROGRESS

Once it is fully flooded, the Lake Sedlitz will be one of the biggest lakes in Brandenburg. It is in the heart of the Lusatian Lake Land, and, in a few years, three navigable canals will connect it with the Lake Ilse, the Lake Geierswalde, and the Lake Partwitz – and, via these lakes, with the Lake Senftenberg to the west and with the Lakes Bluno, Neuwiese, Bergen, Sabrod, and, ultimately, the Lake Spreetal in the eastern part of this navigable lake network. It is also close to three important major roads and the railway lines to Senftenberg, Cottbus, and Berlin, making it very well-connected. It should become a particularly important and widely used lake within the Lusatian Lake Land.

To concentrate their future uses, and to emphasise its significance, the IBA has initiated the »Marinapark Sedlitzer See« project for the north bank of the Lake Sedlitz, which will also be a kind of architectonic benchmark for future infrastructure and tourism development. It has close links to other planned IBA Lake Sedlitz projects: 2008’s Lusatian Lake Land Landmark, the planned floating pontoon and the Lagoon Village. Working together with the Zweckverband, the IBA has also created a tourism use plan and a planning draft for the location.

The sea will only be half full by 2010, but it has been used by two concerns since 2004: The Ilse-Seesportverein (the Ilse lake sports club) sails here and offers tours on a large raft, and Welzow airport lands floatplanes here, making the lake one of only a handful of authorised water landing sites in Germany. Both use temporary facilities – the rough beginnings, on which the planned water sports centre will be built up step by step.

FUTURE PROSPECTS

By 2015, the area will be a commercial district with a harbour – thereby proving that the new lake landscape has potential in areas other than the tourist sector. The planning design commissioned by the IBA from the Berlin firm Häfner/Jiménez involves constructing a terraced, multifunctional water sports centre – a marina with a wide range of services. Apart from being a dock for passenger ships and providing mooring for sports boats, it will offer full dockyard facilities. Boatbuilders and other boat-related businesses will move into its immediate area. The adjacent water aerodrome will open a flying school and a tower with a viewing centre and a kiosk. In addition to their water sports services, there are also plans for a bicycle rental outlet and a venue for sports (and other) events.
www.lausitzerseenland.de