Cities & Landscapes

Discover the World Heritage Region

Discover the country and its people in a unique region in the heart of Germany. A region rich in history and UNESCO World Heritage in an impressive landscape.

Whether for a weekend or on an extended trip - a visit to the World Heritage Region Anhalt-Dessau-Wittenberg is a lasting experience, where you will feel the very own, unmistakable charm of a region where tradition and modernity combine in a special way.

Go on a journey of discovery through 15 impressive cities and 5 breathtaking landscapes in the World HeritageRegion.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Cities

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Fähre in Aken (Elbe)

Aken (Elbe)

Aken is an ideal starting point for cultural day trips to the surrounding area. The city on the southern bank of the middle Elbe, about eight kilometers west of Dessau-Roßlau, is surrounded by an exceptional floodplain landscape belonging to the Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe. 

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Schloss Annaburg-Prettin

Annaburg-Prettin

Charmingly framed by the Elbe-Elster lowlands and the densely wooded Annaburg Heath, the small town of Annaburg lies about 35 km southeast of Wittenberg. It is the easternmost town in Saxony-Anhalt. Visitors will notice the massive 16th century Renaissance castle Annaburg, the impressive marketplace with its half-timbered houses, the Porzellaneum, a museum for the history of stonewares, and more.

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das Coswiger Schloss an der Elbe

Coswig (Anhalt)

The historic town of Coswig (Anhalt), charmingly set on the Elbe about 15 km to the West of Wittenberg, is only a stones throw away from the Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz on the opposite shore of the river.

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Blick über die Muldebrücke auf den Dessauer Johannbau

Dessau-Roßlau

The town city of Dessau-Roßlau is located 35 km from Wittenberg on the edge of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe, nestled in the riverine landscapes of the Mulde and Elbe with their lush forests and meadows. 

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Stadt Kemberg

Kemberg

Kemberg, located 16 km to the south of Wittenberg, represents the northern entrance to the Düben Heath Nature Park. One highlight of the beautiful old town of Kemberg is St Marys, whose 86-meter-high tower is among the major works of neo-Gothic church architecture in Saxony-Anhalt.

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Schloss Oranienbaum

Oranienbaum

The small town of Oranienbaum lies only 13 km to the east of the Bauhaus city Dessau in the Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe. Princess Henriette Catharina of Orange-Nassau turned Oranienbaum, originally a small hamlet in Anhalt called Nischwitz, into what it still is today: a unique gem of Dutch baroque architecture in the middle of Germany.

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Kunstprojekt Sachsenspiegel in Reppichau

Osternienburger Land

Das Osternienburger Land ist eine Einheitsgemeinde, die sich zwischen den vier Städten Aken, Dessau, Köthen und Bernburg befindet. Die größtenteils landschaftlich geprägte Region bietet viel Raum für ausgedehnte und entspannte Stunden in der Natur. 

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Gondelfahrt auf dem Wörlitzer See

Wörlitz

The charming little town of Wörlitz, only about 10 km bee-line from Wittenberg in the Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe, looks back on over 1000 years of history. Wörlitz rose to fame in the second half of the 18th century through one of the earliest and most beautiful English landscape parks in continental Europe. Today, the heart of the UNESCO-protected Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz beats just outside the city.

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Frau im Kostüm von Katharina der Großen sitz an einer langen Tafel im Schloss Zerbst

Zerbst/Anhalt

Between the Elbe and the Fläming, about 20 km from the Bauhaus city Dessau-Roßlau, Zerbst looks back on 1000 years of eventful history. In the first reformed town of Anhalt, Princess Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst, the later Catherine the Great,grew up protected by imposing castle walls. Johann Friedrich Fasch, the court conductor of the time, also helped the town achieve musical fame and glory.

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Landscapes

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Luftaufnahme Goitzschesee

Region Lake Goitzsche

Where once excavators dug into the earth to bring lignite to the surface, Lake Goitzsche today caters to water sports enthusiasts, nature lovers and other guests. The region around Lake Goitzsche offers many possibilities for day trips and also for longer vacations.

 

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Eichhörnchen am Bach

Düben Heath Nature Park

The Düben Heath, located south of Lutherstadt Wittenberg/north of Leipzig, is part of the natural river landscape between the rivers Mulde and Elbe. It is the largest mixed forest area in Central Germany and became a nature park in 1992. Here, many hiking/nature trails traverse beautiful heath forests and moorlands, passing small forest lakes, romantic clearings and tranquil places.

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Naturpark Unteres Saaletal

Lower Saale Valley Nature Park

The area of the Lower Saale Valley became a protected landscape in 1961 because of its scenic beauty and natural treasures. Thanks to floodplains, variously shaped side valleys and rocky slopes, the area has long offered naturalists and artists stimulation and inspiration. Many protected animal and plant species are at home here and there are various cultural monuments to discover.

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