A beauty that enchants!
Poets, painters, architects - they were all enchanted by the beauty and splendor of Wörlitz Park. To this day, the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz, this unique, self-contained landscape of gardens and palaces, casts a spell over countless visitors. Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau, an enthusiastic supporter of the Enlightenment, humanism and an England enthusiast, had the Wörlitz cultural landscape laid out from 1764. His idea was to combine the pleasant with the useful and to create a harmonious connection between man and nature. In the years that followed, the Wörlitz Park was the first landscape park in Central Europe to be created in the English style.
Gardens, avenues and the palaces of the Garden Kingdom - Wörlitz Palace is considered the founding building of German Classicism - are so naturally embedded in the floodplain landscape that they give the entire area the character of a park of infinite expanse. In 2000, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee declared the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz a World Heritage Site on the grounds that it is "an outstanding example of the implementation of philosophical principles of the Enlightenment in a landscape design that harmoniously combines art, education and economy." Today, seven parks in the Garden Kingdom are part of the Gartenträume e.V. tourist and heritage conservation network. The Dessau-Wörlitz Cultural Foundation is primarily responsible for the maintenance and preservation of the World Heritage Site.
Blooming meadows, rustling forests, fragrant flowers, glistening lakes and canals invite you to go for walks, hikes, bike tours, horseback riding, gondola and ferry rides. Various guided tours are also on offer. And if you want to relax a little, you can sit on the terrace of a café or restaurant and enjoy the idyllic view. It is an experience to explore this unique cultural landscape and discover the harmony of landscape, garden art, architecture and fine art. Exhibitions and events offered by the foundation throughout the year provide background knowledge and complete the experience.
