Germany transformed former coal mines into Europe’s largest lake landscape
A project that first started in 1967 to transform disused coal mines in Germany into a massive lake complex will open its final lake for swimming and boating at the end of this month.
The Lusatian Lakeland, now Europe’s largest artificial water landscape, is made up of 23 human-made post-mining lakes with a surface water area of 14,000 hectares — almost as large as Italy’s iconic Lake Como.
Ten of the lakes will be connected by canals in the future, to have 7,000 hectares of continuously navigable water.
Why is this good news? Decades of mining in the region left huge craters. Once considered a “wound” in the landscape, the transformation is now having a positive economic impact, benefiting both tourists and locals, and serving as a model for other coal-mining regions in Europe.
The lake complex is also serving as a water reservoir for nearby rivers, helping during periods of low water and droughts.
After having a heart attack when she was 22, a British woman is inspiring others to get their heart checked
To celebrate its 65th birthday, the British Heart Foundation dedicated 65 benches to people across London who are living with cardiovascular disease. 24-year-old Faith Harrison is on one of the benches — made in “living memory” of her, and others like her who came close to death due to heart disease.
In 2024, Harrison had a seven-hour-long heart attack that required emergency surgery. She had no idea that she had two congenital heart defects until the heart attack occurred, and she’s using her story to raise awareness for others.
“A lot of people view heart attacks as happening to someone who's old, potentially a man, overweight … I used that as a form of education, to educate people about what heart defects are,” she said.
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