DER SPIEGEL – Swathes of land in eastern Germany are undergoing an ambitious facelift: Derelict open-cast mines dating from communist East Germany are being flooded, transforming the area into Europe’s biggest artificial lake district. Developers hope it will become a tourist magnet as well. What to do if you have a series of gaping hole twice the size of Berlin in your backyard? That unusual conundrum has dogged Germany’s Lusatia region for decades. Read More