Prince Leopold III Franz of Anhalt-Dessau (1740-1817), creator of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom and namesake of this tour, imprinted his ideas on the landscapes visible along this route. The cycling route (approx. 68 km) traverses the marvelous Elbe meadows and the Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe, connecting a variety of sights with the castles and parks of the UNESO World Heritage Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom.
This round trip leads from Großkühnau (Dessau) through the Kühnau park with its vineyard castle to Georgium Castle, over the Mulde hunting bridge and onwards through the Sieglitz park. The tour continues through the Elbe meadows to the parks of Wörlitz, via Oranienbaum to the beaver release area and theAuenhaus information center to Mildensee. From there, the tour continues through the Mulde meadows and Mosigkau Heath to Mosigkau Castle.
The park of Großkühnau is the youngest complex of the Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz. Today, the castle is the seat of the Dessau-Wörlitz Cultural Foundation.
The Gothic House is one of the earliest and best preserved neo-Gothic buildings on the European continent. Construction began in 1773, with several extensions added until 1813.
The Chinese House, along with the pagoda and several arched bridges in the Baroque Island Garden, is part of the only 18th-century English-Chinese garden still complete.
Boasting the only artificial volcano in Europe, the island “Stein” in the eastern part of Lake Wörlitz is one of the most spectacular monuments in the UNESCO World Heritage Garden Kingdom Dessau-Wörlitz.
The Information Center „ Auenhaus" in the Central Elbe Biosphere Reserve supplies detailed information about the special features of this large protected area.
´From the Kornhaus restaurant in the north to the Bauhaus building and the masters’ houses to the Dessau-Törten estate in the south, Dessau has more original Bauhaus buildings than any other city. The most important ones are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.