The ground breaking ceremony for the new 665-metre-long water link was held on Septemer 12, 2012. Flooding of the channel with water from the Karl Heine Canal and inflowing groundwater commenced in January 2015. Planting and landscaping works are now also nearing completion. The total cost of the construction project will come to 9.997 million euros.
Water tourism, new restaurants and residential development
"Thanks to the link between Lindenau Harbour and Leipzig's water landscape, as well as the Leipzig New Lakeland with its water tourism infrastructure, the once-isolated body of water has finally been consigned to the history books," says Heiko Rosenthal. "As anyone can see, this is an ideal basis for the development of an attractive residential area, ‘Lindenau Harbour’. The water link also provides the basis for the construction of some 400 apartments, which will mainly be multi-storey residential buildings, as well as attracting new restaurants and businesses."
Background of the Lindenau Habour plans
The planning of the water link has been under way since 1988. The idea to locate the Olympic village in Lindenau Harbour as part of Leipzig's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games has seen the the whole area radically revised. Having originally followed the natural course of the river, the canal was redesigned with a strong emphasis on urban development.
Despite the failure of the Olympic bid, the plans for the link were still put into action. Heiko Rosenthal: "The integrated tourism concept for the Eastern German Lakeland Region, which has now been unveiled to the public, clearly underscores the importance of the link between the Karl Heine Canal and Lindenau Harbour."