The palaces and gardens of the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-​Wörlitz

Explore this unique cultural landscape. Find out about the harmony of landscape, architecture and the fine arts and discover the cultural heritage of times gone by.

Large parts of the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz are today administered by the Kulturstiftung DessauWörlitz. Visit our palaces and gardens and spend some relaxing and inspiring hours here. Walking, gondola tours, concerts or exhibition – much is possible.

Schloss Wörlitz – England and classical antiquity all under one roof

Schloss Wörlitz, the house that established neo-classicism in Germany, was built for Prince Franz after designs by Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff. It still contains its original late 18th century furnishings and decorations including precious collections of classical sculptures, paintings and objects from the famous Wedgwood factory.

The Gothic House in the Wörlitz Gardens

The Gothic House contains a unique collection of mainly Swiss stained glass dating from the late 15th to the 17th centuries as well as remarkable neo-gothic furnishings.

Oranienbaum – a little piece of Holland

Oranienbaum is a geometrical ensemble integrating town, palace and park and at the same time a rare example of a mainly Dutch-inspired baroque garden in Germany. Henriette Catharina, Princess of Anhalt-Dessau and born a Princess of Orange-Nassau, chose the little village as the place of her summer residence and previously named it »Oranienbaum« (lit. orange tree).

Mosigkau – a pearl of the Rococo period

The Rococo palace of Mosigkau was built by Princess Anna Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Dessau as a summer residence. The house – today affectionately called »little Sanssouci« – is one of the last surviving Rococo ensembles in Central Germany. Although it cannot compete with its model in Potsdam, its rural charm and elegance contribute to its unique appeal. The core and at the same time climax of the whole design is the Gallery within the Corps de logis. The room holds important paintings by mainly Flemish and Dutch masters hung in a baroque fashion (i.e. without gaps between the pictures) which is rare, in fact unique for Germany, and set in recesses in the wall.

Luisium – a private retreat for the Princess

The neo-classical country seat of Princess Luise of Anhalt-Dessau is considered to be Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff’s masterpiece. Today it appears as the most idyllic of all the grounds laid out between Dessau and Wörlitz. The intimate rooms and cabinets of the delightful house with their fine stucco decorations and wall paintings are largely originally furnished.

Großkühnau – a vineyard within the Elbe meadows

The palace was built for Prince Albert of Anhalt-Dessau and was completed in 1780. Its owner simply referred to it as the »house« and at the time it was very modestly and solidly furnished. Apart from the decorative painting in the Banqueting Hall on the first floor, there was no artistic ornamentation anywhere in the house. Since January 1998 the house is the home of the administrative headquarters of the Kulturstiftung DessauWörlitz (KsDW).

Georgium – an extensive landscape garden

Apart from the Wörlitz Gardens, the Georgium is art-historically the most significant English-style landscape garden within the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz. It was created by Prince Franz’s younger brother, Prince Johann Georg, and is named after him.

The park at the Sieglitzer Berg

Towards the west of the old fishing village of Vockerode, where the river Elbe makes a bends, Prince Franz started some time after 1777 to lay out a woodland park. It is situated on an elevation that is dry during the frequent floods and comprises an area of about 25 hectares (62 acres). Contemporaries described it as an »orderly wilderness«, which is exactly the effect the Prince had intended.