The Bluno Dam separates Blunoer Südsee in the west and Sabrodter See in the east. These two mining lakes have their origin in the Spreetal opencast mine and are connected by the 142 yard (130 m) long Überleiter 3 canal. About a dozen of these canals are planned for instalment in the Lusatian Lake District to fulfil two functions: on the one hand, they are indispensable for the hydrological management of the lakes; on the other, they can be used for tourism, not only for private boating, but also for commercial passenger cruises. In the medium term, ten of the altogether 25 larger lakes in the Lusatian Lake District will be connected by canals.
As per 2017, two canals (German: Kanal or Überleiter) are already functional: Koschener Kanal between Senftenberger See and Geierswalder See, and Barbarakanal, which connects Geierswalder See with Partwitzer See. Überleiter 3 cutting through the Bluno Dam will be commissioned once Blunoer Südsee and Sabrodter See have reached their final water levels. Numerous factors determine when that will be the case.
Bluno itself is a gorgeously beautiful village with a half-timbered church dating from 1673 as its landmark building. The village first emerged from obscurity in 1401. Its inhabitants preserve the German-Sorbian lifestyle, for example, by way of many customs and traditions such as driving out of the winter (Zampern), the Easter fire and erecting a May pole. Bluno has already several times successfully taken part in the competition ‘Unser Dorf hat Zukunft’ (Our Village Has a Future).
