





Road of the German language (Straße der deutschen Sprache)
The German language is over 1200 years old. Roughly 100 million speakers make it the most widely spoken native language in Europe today. One in five Europeans speaks German as a native language, one in seven as a foreign language. It is the key to education, integration and participation in German-speaking societies. The great expressiveness of the German language and its beauty have inspired poets and thinkers.
This "road" connecting places that played a significant role in the evolution of the German language is best explored on a multi-day cycling tour. Following the R1 European Cycle Route (Euro-Route) from Köthen to Dessau, cyclists travel along the rivers Mulde and Elbe to Wittenberg. After this, they reach the area around Lake Goitzsche on the Coal | Steam | Light-route.
In Köthen, a part of this World Heritage region, Prince Ludwig von Anhalt-Köthen founded the Fruitbearing Society (Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft) in 1617. It was the first German language society and played an important part in the development of a unified German language. Accordingly, Köthen is an ideal starting point for this bike tour. Following the R1 Euro-Route, cyclists travel from Köthen through Eike von Repgow’s village, Reppichau, to Dessau, continuing along the rivers Mulde and Elbe via Vockerode and Wörlitz through the picturesque Elbe meadows to Wittenberg. After this, the cycle path Coal | Steam | Light I Lakes leads to the mining lakes of the Düben Heath to Gräfenhainichen and into the book village (Buchdorf) Mühlbeck-Friedersdorf.

WelterbeRegion Anhalt-Dessau-Wittenberg e.V.
Neustraße 13
06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg
Tel. 03491 402610
Fax. 03491 405857
info@anhalt-dessau-wittenberg.de
www.anhalt-dessau-wittenberg.de
Further Information:
www.strasse-der-deutschen-sprache.de
Important stations on the Road of the German language

Köthen (Anhalt)
Today, Köthen is the seat of the New Fruitbearing Society (Neue Fruchtbringende Gesellschaft), continuing the tradition of the first German language society founded in 1617 by Prince Ludwig von Anhalt-Köthen. The society invites visitors to the exhibition German Language Experience (Erlebniswelt deutsche Sprache) in the castle and to many events aimed at the advancement of the German language.

Reppichau
Eike von Repgow was the creator of the most important legal book of the Middle Ages, the Sachsenspiegel, the oldest major language monument in German prose. Reppichau with its "Art Project Sachsenspiegel" is an open-air museum for medieval legal history and unique in Germany.

Dessau-Roßlau
Under Prince Leopold III Frederick Franz of Anhalt-Dessau (1740-1817), creator of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), Dessau became a center of Enlightenment, reaching new highs in terms of culture, economy and contemporary pedagogy.

Lutherstadt WIttenberg
Wittenberg (also known as the Lutherstadt, or Luther’s city) became the center of written High German through Luther’s translation of the New and Old Testaments. The city is home to many places of historic importance.

Gräfenhainichen
Gräfenhainichen, on the edge of the Düben Heath, is the birthplace of Paul Gerhardt, a protestant hymnodist second only to Martin Luther himself. His verses, whose linguistic beauty shines to this day, found their way into the songbooks of Christians all over the world.

Mühlbeck-Friedersdorf: a book village (Buchdorf)
Mühlbeck-Friedersdorf is Germany’s first book village, the local mission being the collection, preservation and distribution of German-language texts. The village boasts ten antiquarian bookshops at seven locations. Readings and other cultural events take place regularly.