Spreetaler See results from the Spreetal-Nordost opencast mine. Some 34 million metric tons of coal were extracted from that pit between 1982 and 1991. This mass equates to about 23 million cars. The resulting pit was flooded between 1998 and 2015. Spreetaler See now comprises a surface area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2), that is, roughly 449 football fields.
The idea is to develop the lake into a paradise for motorised water sports. Especially motor boats with strong engines will be able to run at full throttle here. The lake offers excellent access. It can be quickly reached by driving off the nearby route B 97 Spremberg – Hoyerswerda.
The lake forms the south-eastern cornerstone of the old pit chain of altogether ten lakes, which are connected by navigable canals. Spreetaler See is connectedto the neighbouring Sabrodter See by the longest canal in our lake district, measuring just over 1.7 miles (2.8 km). The connection including lock is already completed. Now the respective water levels in both lakes have to reach their final level.
Spreetaler See belongs to the municipalities Elsterheide and Spreetal. The latter comprises seven villages. The municipality of Spreetal is one of the municipalities with the fewest inhabitants in the rural district of Bautzen.Spreetal is largely characterised by mining. Dumps, lakes in former pits and the Schwarze Pumpe industrial park dominate the landscape. Yet parts of the romantic Spree meadows have been preserved and other hidden treasures in the villages await their discovery. These include the half-timbered church of Spreewitz, the Venushügel (Venus Hill) on the river Spree and the confluence of the Große Spree and the Kleine Spree.