This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(February 2023) |
Cospudener See | |
---|---|
Location | Saxony |
Coordinates | 51°16′10″N12°20′7″E / 51.26944°N 12.33528°E |
Type | artificial lake |
Primary outflows | Neuer Floßgraben → Batschke → Pleisse → White Elster → Saale → Elbe → North Sea |
Basin countries | Germany |
Max. length | 4 km (2.5 mi) |
Max. width | 1.7 km (1.1 mi) |
Surface area | 4.36 km2 (1.68 sq mi) |
Average depth | 25 m (82 ft) |
Max. depth | 54 m (177 ft) |
Water volume | 109 million cubic metres (88,000 acre⋅ft) |
Shore length1 | 10.5 km (6.5 mi) |
Surface elevation | 110 m (360 ft) |
Settlements | Leipzig, Markkleeberg, Zwenkau |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
The Cospudener See (sometimes translated as Lake Cospuden) is an artificially constructed lake situated directly on the southern outskirts of Leipzig, Germany. Leipzig, Markkleeberg and Zwenkau have shares in the lake which is on the site of a former open cast mine. The lake is popularly known as "Cossi", more rarely "Cospi", and has become highly popular with the local population, with long stretches of sand beaches (some clothing-optional, following the East German tradition of public nude bathing) and with a sauna directly located at the lake. [1] There is also a small sailing harbor. The lake is a part of the Central German Lake District.
The name comes from the owner of the seigneurial domain (Rittergut) located there: Heinricus de Kozebude around 1216. The name then evolved from Kozbude (1240), Kossebude (1350), Kossebode (1378), Kostworde (1564) to Kospuden in 1875. Otto von Dieskau built a paper mill here in 1599. It became a hamlet to which Johann Sebastian Bach refers in his Peasant Cantata written in 1740. Cospuden is then attached to the municipality of Gautzsch in 1875 which is in turn attached to Markkleeberg 1934. The population was 54 in 1871. [2]
The opening of the Cospuden opencast mine (1981) as a branch from the Zwenkau opencast mine coincided with the radical coal mining policy that had been in operation in the GDR since the mid-1970s, in which the aim was to maximize the use of domestic lignite as a result of the oil crisis. The opencast mine was to be operated in several fields with an annual output of approx. 5-6 million tons until around 1996. The excavation of the floodplain landscape of the White Elster, which is used for agriculture and forestry, destroyed a hitherto popular local recreation area south of Leipzig. In addition, several small settlements, such as the former manor Lauer, were devastated and resettled a total of 43 residents. The eponymous village of Cospuden (38 inhabitants), whose inhabitants had already been resettled in 1974 in connection with the Zwenkau opencast mine, was finally dredged over in the course of 1981. The economic structural change and massive acceptance problems in the population resulted in the establishment of the broad citizen initiative Stop Cospuden in 1989. [3] [4] This led to the suspension of production in 1992. Until then, the opencast mine had taken up an excavation area of 5.1 km2 (2.0 sq mi) and delivered around 32 million tons of lignite to the surrounding processing companies.
Due to the location on the immediate outskirts of Leipzig, the GDR's re-use plan already provided for the remaining hole to be completely filled with water after the end of production and for the creation of leisure-oriented re-use options. This core idea was retained in the revitalization of the site. The lake reached its final water level of 110 m (360 ft) above sea level in the spring of 2000 due to the inflow of groundwater and precipitation water as well as pit water from the Zwenkau opencast mines (from 1994) and Profen (from 1998) with neutral water conditions. [5] [6] [7]
This made the Cospudener See the first mining lake in the Neuseenland of Leipzig [8] that could be handed over to subsequent use. The advantage in terms of time compared to the other lakes and the location close to the city and with good transport connections caused the comparatively rapid establishment of the demanding leisure facilities in the vicinity of the lake. In terms of scope, these extend far beyond the legally prescribed revitalization services and also beyond the forms of use at comparable residual lakes, since the Cospudener See was viewed as a model project for the possibilities of designing a post-mining landscape. The financing and implementation of the plans was essentially due to the subject of Expo 2000's motto "man - nature - technology", [9] in which the Cospudener See took part as a decentralized contribution of the city of Leipzig. It was the focus of the contribution "landscape use - landscape care". The Expo was the occasion and motor for the revitalization of the Cospuden opencast mine site. [10]
During the revegetation, a local recreation area with a beach and landscape park was laid out around the lake and opened as part of Expo 2000 on 1 June 2000. The leisure activities are for sunbathing and swimming and are well accepted by sailors, windsurfers, kite surfers, inline skaters, divers and cyclists, so that the Cospudener See has developed into a popular local recreation area. In recent years, it has been frequented by an average of around 450,000 people per season. [11] In the course of the Leipzig Olympic application for 2012, [12] competitions were held at Lake Cospuden. Rowing, triathlon and beach volleyball and a wide range of other leisure activities are planned. The lake offers the following uses:
Since 2010, the Th!nk? Festival for Techno and House music is held every year on the last Sunday of July. [15]
A newly created canal connects the northern part of the lake navigable (small boats) via the Waldsee Lauer (Forest lake Lauer) and via the Batschke (today mostly a raft ditch) through the forests of the Elster-Pleiße-Floodplain with the Pleiße and also via the lock at the Connewitz weir with the White Elster. [22] [23] The Zwenkauer See is also to be connected to the Cospudener See via the Neue Harth canal, which, according to press reports, is "stuck in planning and financing issues" in 2022. [24] Both projects are considered the first steps towards the implementation of a water network between the lakes in the Leipzig Neuseenland.
As part of this network, a large part of the flooded opencast mines are to be connected to each other and to the city of Leipzig via the watercourse. This artificially connected lake district, which can be used for water tourism, would have better development and marketing opportunities than a series of unconnected individual lakes due to the synergy effects resulting from the linking of urban landscape, alluvial forests and open-cast mining lakes. Due to the high investments, which are estimated at 30-35 million euros, the participation of private investors and the finding of reliable sponsorship and operator models for the implementation of the plans will be decisive for success. The Cospudener See is part of the 2015 submitted Tourismuswirtschaftlichen Gesamtkonzeptes für die Gewässerlandschaft im mitteldeutschen Raum, which means in English Overall Tourism Concept for the Water landscape in Central Germany. [25]
It is possible to marry on the ship [26] [27] The MS Neuseenland, a Hamburg harbor barge, has been operating as a charter ship on the lake since 2003.
There is a large, free visitor car park on Brückenstraße, which is 1 km (0.62 mi) from the north beach. In addition, Leipzig bus line 65 runs from there directly to the north beach, which connects the Leipzig borough Großzschocher in the northwest and the Markkleeberg S-Bahn station in the southeast. Cospudener See is part of the tarif zone 110 (City of Leipzig) from the direction of Großzschocher. In the summer months, from May to September, this area can also be reached on weekends with the extended Leipzig bus line 79 (Thekla-Stötteritz-Probstheida-Cospudener See).
In Zöbigker on the east bank, there are two more parking spaces: the first is 500 m (1,600 ft) from Pier I, the second is directly at the harbor pier and is intended for boat owners and people with walking disabilities. Also in Zöbigker the Leipzig bus line 106 (Probstheida/Auenhain-Markkleeberger See-Markkleeberg-Großstädteln) stops less than 300 m (980 ft) from the beach.
The lake is also connected to the Leipzig river and canal network by a lock in the northern area. This makes it possible to drive from the city harbor in Leipzig to the lake. Not only smaller sailing ships can dock in the harbor, but there is also a pleasure boat from Pier I. The ship MS Cospuden operated by Tourismus- und Freizeitservice GmbH has been sailing on the lake since 25 March 2000. It has an upper and a lower deck. A trip with a lecture including the sailors' superstitions takes about an hour.
In 2003, the project Leipzig. A Second Nature Landscape Cospuden was on the shortlist of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award. [28]
Böhlen is a town in Saxony, Germany, south of Leipzig. Its main features are a small airport and a power plant. It is located in the newly built Neuseenland, the lakes created in former open-pit mining areas.
Borna is a town in Saxony, Germany, capital of the Leipzig district. It is situated approximately 30 km southeast of Leipzig city. It has approx. 19,000 inhabitants. The town is the district seat of the district of Leipzig.
The Lusatian Lake District is a chain of artificial lakes under construction in Germany across the north-eastern part of Saxony and the southern part of Brandenburg. Through flooding as a part of an extensive regeneration programme, several decommissioned lignite opencast mines are in the process of being transformed into Europe's largest artificial lake district. However, the requirements of the project, especially the necessary water resources, are controversial.
The Berzdorfer See or Lake Berzdorf is located at the southern city limits of Görlitz in Upper Lusatia. It consists of the residual hole of the former Berzdorf open-cast lignite mine, which was flooded from 2002 to the beginning of 2013. The lake forms the southeastern corner of the Lusatian Lake District. With its volume of about 330 million cubic meters and a water depth of max. 72 meters on an area of 960 hectares, it is one of the largest lakes in Saxony. Its name derives from the small village Berzdorf, which was devastated in 1969/70.
Zwenkau is a town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. Situated between the White Elster and Pleiße rivers, it nestles in the Leipzig Bay and includes parts of the conservation area Elsteraue and Central Germany's Street of Lignite. It is situated within the Central German Metropolitan Region.
The Kulkwitzer See, colloquially called Kulki, is a lake in the western part of Saxony, Germany. The lake is a part of the Central German Lake District.
Lake Senftenberg is an artificial lake in Landkreis Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Brandenburg, Germany. It is located in the Lusatian Lake District, a chain of artificial lakes. The lake is located on the border of Lower and Upper Lusatia between the southern Brandenburg city of Senftenberg and its districts Niemtsch and Großkoschen. Lake Senftenberg is one of the largest artificial lakes in Germany with an area of 1300 hectares.
Kanupark Markkleeberg, built in 2006, is the second of two artificial whitewater canoe/kayak slalom courses in Germany, and the only one powered by pumps. The other German course is the Eiskanal in Augsburg, used in the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich. Kanupark Markkleeberg is located on the southeast shore of Markkleeberger See, a lake south of Markkleeberg, a suburb on the south side of Leipzig. A former open-pit coal mine, the lake was flooded in 1999 with groundwater and developed as a water recreation area. The lake is part of the Leipziger Neuseenland, the largest landscape construction project in Europe, which is reclaiming formerly barren industrial and mining sites for recreational use.
The Leipzig–Hof railway is a two-track main line in the German states of Saxony, Thuringia and Bavaria, originally built and operated by the Saxon-Bavarian Railway Company. It runs from Leipzig through Altenburg, the Werdau wye junction, Reichenbach and Plauen to Hof. The Werdau–Hof section is part of the Saxon-Franconian trunk line (Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale), the line connecting Dresden and Nuremberg. Its first section opened in 1842 and it is one of the oldest railways in Germany.
Struga is a river of Saxony, Germany in northern Upper Lusatia. It is a right tributary of the Spree, which it joins in Neustadt (Spree). It passes through the lignite mining region north of the Nochten opencast mine and is canalized for its whole length. Its basin is marked by past and present mining activities.
The Elster-Saale Canal, renamed in 1999 by the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration to Saale-Leipzig Canal or SLK and on the Halle side also called Saale-Elster Canal, was a canal project started in 1933 and aborted in 1943. It was intended to link the White Elster river with the Saale near Leuna and thus enable the city of Leipzig to be joined to Germany's inland waterway network. The 11 kilometre long water-filled channel is one of the "special federal waterways".
Lippendorf is located in the municipality of Neukieritzsch, near Leipzig in Saxony, Germany. The present town of Lippendorf used to be known as the village of Medewitzsch. In 1934, the towns of Medewitzsch, Lippendorf and Spahnsdorf combined to form the new town of Lippendorf. North of town are Böhlen and Zwenkau, to the east is Rotha, to the south is Neukieritzsch and to the west is Russen-Kleinstorkwitz
The Zwenkauer See is the largest lake in the Neuseenland situated 12 kilometres (7 mi) south of Leipzig. It is on the site of a former lignite open cast mine.
Bertzit Tower is an investment ruin in the north of Kahla, which belongs to Plessa in the southern part of Brandenburg, itself part of the Elbe-Elster region.
The Bergheider See, south of Finsterwalde near Lichterfeld in the county of Elbe-Elster in Germany, is a flooded pit from the former open cast mine of Klettwitz-Nord, northeast of the Lower Lusatian Heath. The lake was named after the old village of Bergheide, which had to be abandoned for the brown coal pit.
The Meuro mine was a former open-cast mine located in the state of Brandenburg, Germany that was in operation from 1958 to 1999. It was a source of lignite, often referred to as brown coal, which was used in local factories and power stations. It was one of a number of mines in the Lusatia area which left a massive water debt when the water was pumped out for the operation of the mine. This had to be remediated by the company, Lausitzer und Mitteldeutsche Bergbau-Verwaltungsgesellschaft (LMBV), a state-owned company. The area was flooded and converted into a multi-use recreation and tourism area.
The Rheinisches Braunkohlerevier, often called the Rhenish mining area, is a lignite mining area or district in the Cologne Bay, on the northwestern edge of the Rhenish Slate Mountains. The mining of lignite using the open pit method has had a significant impact on the landscape here and led to the formation of several important industrial sites. The area includes the Zülpicher and Jülicher Börde, the Erft lowlands and the Ville, making it the largest lignite mining area in Europe. To a lesser extent clay, silica sand and loess are mined here. The area is the only active lignite mining area in what was West Germany during German partition and contains the mines with the largest surface area, greatest depth, and biggest annual output of coal.
The Inner City Ring Road in Leipzig in the district of Mitte is the ring road around Leipzig's city centre. It encloses the just 0.7 km2 (0.27 sq mi) large area of the old town without the former Vorstadts.
The Promenadenring Leipzig is the oldest municipal landscape park in Germany and one of the most important garden and cultural monuments in the city. The term is also used as a synonym for Leipzig's inner city ring road, a traffic facility that is connected to the green spaces of the Promenadenring. Like the inner city ring road, the promenade ring is about 3.6 kilometers long (2.24 mi.).
Connewitz is a locality in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany. It is a subdivision (Ortsteil) in the borough of Leipzig-Süd (Stadtbezirk).