Location: Germany Saxony Neukieritzsch
South of Leipzig, Hainer See fills the pit of a lignite mine that two villages had to make way for. Today its shores offer a campsite, a holiday village and waterside building plots.
Interesting facts
- Created from the Witznitz II opencast mine, closed in 1993
- Named after the excavated village of Hain
- Final water level since early 2010, surface at around 126 m above sea level
- The holiday village on the northern shore is heated with energy from the lake water
Why visit
- Water sports and camping in the Leipzig New Lake District
- Traces of the past: memorial stone for the lost villages of Hain and Kreudnitz
- An example of how a mining landscape is transformed
Hainer See is part of the Leipzig New Lake District and lies north-west of Borna in the municipality of Neukieritzsch. It is the middle one of three lakes created from the Witznitz II opencast mine, which closed in 1993; its neighbours are Haubitzer See and Kahnsdorfer See.
The lake is named after the village of Hain, which had to make way for the mine – the village’s former land now lies under water. Kreudnitz was also excavated. A memorial stone on the shore, set up in 2005 at the “Hain-Kreudnitz meeting”, commemorates both places.
In early 2010 the lake reached its final water level and was connected to the Pleiße river by a canal. It has been developed for visitors since 2008: a campsite opened in 2015 on the northern shore between Rötha and Espenhain, where there is also a holiday village. At the Kahnsdorf lagoon, waterside building plots are being sold.
History
The lake was created by restoring the Witznitz II opencast mine, closed in 1993. The villages of Hain and Kreudnitz were excavated for the mine; since 2005 a memorial stone on the shore has commemorated them. Lime was added to the flooding water to prevent acidification. The final water level was reached in early 2010, and the connection to the Pleiße followed in the same year.
Special features
Since 2024 the holiday village on the northern shore has been heated with energy from the lake: heat pumps at a jetty draw heat from the water for a small local heating network. Since 2022 the Witznitz energy park has been built at the lake, a solar park with 650 megawatts peak output – according to its operator one of the largest in Europe.
Map
Opens an external route planner. Please check access and opening times before you set off.
Sources
Image: Jwaller · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Last reviewed: October 27, 2026