Überleiter 1 is by far the longest canal in the Lusatian Lake District. With a length of just over 1.7 miles (2.8 km), it bridges the distance between Spreetaler See in the east and Sabrodter See in the west. The structure moreover boasts a lock of almost 33 yards (30 m) in length that reconciles the water level difference between the two lakes.
Historically speaking, the canal connects the flooded opencast mines Spreetal-Nordost and Spreetal. Some 382 million metric tons of coal were mined in this region over a period of seven and a half decades. By way of comparison, this corresponds to about two million blue whales, which are regarded as the heaviest animals on earth (190 metric tons per whale). The conversion into electricity and refining of the crude lignite mainly took place at Schwarze Pumpe (a former gas combine) and at the Trattendorf power plant.
In the medium term, passenger ships and boats will travel along Überleiter 1. It makes day trips to the harbour towns of Großräschen and Senftenberg in 18.6 miles (30 km) and 31 miles (50 km) distance possible in future. Spreetaler See is emerging as the lake district’s water sports centre. The necessary infrastructure is being built since 2015/2016, for example, new roads, parking facilities and buildings.
The pony farm ‘Terra Nova’ near the north-western shore has been welcoming visitors since early 2012. It offers carriage rides to the surrounding area. The so-called inside dump, the depleted area of the Spreetal opencast mine, however, is a prohibited zone. This is the site of the ‘Millionenkippe’, a former landfill that has by now been greened. The future of this zone will be decided once the mining experts have concluded their geotechnical assessment. Perhaps one day tourists will once again stand on the ‘Kleiner Brocken’, the top of the landfill, and enjoy the fantastic 360-degree landscape panorama.