Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [182]
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Getting There & Around
Regional trains serve Dessau from Berlin-Hauptbahnhof (€21, 1¾ hours), Lutherstadt Wittenberg (€6.90, 40 minutes) as well as Leipzig, Halle and Magdeburg (all €10.30, one hour). The Berlin-Munich autobahn (A9) runs east of town.
Single bus and tram tickets cost €1.50, day passes are €4.50. Bikes can be hired from Mobilitätszentrale ( 213 366; per day €3-7; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri year-round, 9am-1pm Sat & Sun May-Sep) outside the Hauptbahnhof or from Beckers Radhaus ( 216 0113; Wilhelm-Feuerherdt-Strasse 13; per day from €6; 11am-midnight Mon-Fri, 11am-2pm Sat).
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GARTENREICH DESSAU-WÖRLITZ
Aside from being a mecca of modern architecture, Dessau and surrounds are home to the Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz (Garden Realm), one of the finest garden ensembles in Germany. The parks reflect the vision of Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau (1740–1817). A highly educated man, he travelled to Holland, Italy, France and Switzerland for inspiration on how to apply the philosophical principles of the Enlightenment to the design of a landscape in harmony with nature, architecture and art. In 2000, Unesco recognised his efforts by putting the gardens onto its list of World Heritage Sites. Each of the six English-style gardens comes with its own palace and other buildings, in styles ranging from neoclassical to baroque to neo-Gothic.
The Garden Realm is embraced by the Unesco-protected Biosphärenreservat Mittlere Elbe (Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe; www.biosphaerenreservatmittlereelbe.de, in German). Nature lovers should stop at the information centre ( 034904-4060; Am Kapenschlösschen 3, Oranienbaum) on the way to Schloss Oranienbaum. There’s also a nearby beaver compound (adult/child €1/0.50; 1-4pm Sat & Sun Apr, 11am-5pm Mon-Fri May-Oct, by arrangement at other times), where you can watch the animals through a screen.
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Orientation
The six parks are scattered over 142 sq km. The most central is Georgium, being just five minutes’ walk from Dessau Hauptbahnhof. The most impressive, Wörlitz, is also the further at about 18km east of town. Mosigkau is about 7km southwest of central Dessau, while Luisium lies 3km east. Oranienbaum is 14km southeast of Dessau or 6km south of Wörlitz. Finally, Grosskühnau is about 5km northwest of central Dessau.
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Information
The Dessau tourist office Click here has all the information you need, or stop by Wörlitz-Information ( 034905-202 16, room reservations 194 33; www.woerlitz.de; Förstergasse 26; 9am-6pm Mar-Oct, 9am-4pm Mon-Fri Nov-Jan, 9am-4pm Mon-Fri & 11am-3pm Sat & Sun Feb).
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Sights
WÖRLITZ PARK & SCHLOSS
With peacocks feeding on the lawn before a neo-Gothic house, a tree-lined stream flowing towards a Grecian-style temple and a gap in a hedge framing a distant villa, the 112-hectare English-style Wörlitz Park (admission free) is the pinnacle of Prince Leopold’s garden region. Take your sweet time to saunter among this mosaic of paths, hedges and follies, but don’t even think about having a picnic on the sprawling lawns: even walking on them is very much verboten, as is bicycling within park grounds.
Between May and October, hand-cranked ferries (tickets €0.60; 10am-6.30pm daily May-Sep, 11am-5pm daily Apr & Oct, noon-5pm Sat & Sun Mar & Nov) cross the Wörlitzer See, which lies between garden sections. Also during these months, 45-minute gondola tours (tickets €6; 10am-6pm May-Sep, 11am-4pm Apr & Oct) ply the lake, departing when eight people or more gather at the dock – this doesn’t take long in summer; indeed the problem is more often too many customers for gondolas. Weekend concerts are another summer highlight.
On the edge of the park nearest the town lies Prince Leopold’s former country house, the neoclassical Schloss Wörlitz ( 034905-4090; tours €4.50; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun May-Sep, to 5pm Apr & Oct,