Gartenreich-Tour „Fürst Franz“ – Radfahren in Sachsen-Anhalt

On this bike tour we will take you on a journey through the impressive cultural landscape of the Garden Kingdom of Leopold III Friedrich Franz von Anhalt-Dessau. As a supporter of the Enlightenment, he undertook several study trips to other countries during his time in office, the findings of which he also implemented in landscape design, among other things. In this way he provided some variety in the baroque gardens and created beautiful parks that were more closely oriented towards nature. Look forward to a nearly 70-kilometer journey through the blossoming garden world of a bygone era.

The train station in Mosigkau is a good starting point. Since the tour goes around Dessau-Roßlau, it is also easy to reach from Dessau Central Station. The starting point would then be just behind Ziebigk in the north of Dessau. If you start the tour in Mosigkau, the route first takes you in a wide arc around Dessau, past the Kühnauer See and along a section of the Elbe at Wallwitzberg, which makes a pretty loop here.

The tour continues along the Elbe dam, where the first pretty elements of the Garden Kingdom are not long in coming. On the tour you will repeatedly come across such dreamy buildings that place the route in an almost fairytale atmosphere. A clear highlight of the tour is the Wörlitz Park, which follows shortly afterwards. You should definitely take the time to explore the parks in more detail here.

Via the town of Oranienbaum, the tour continues south along the castle park of the same name along Prince Franz's Garden Kingdom. Shortly afterwards you are already in the middle of the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve. The UNESCO-designated protected area is home to an incredibly diverse range of flora and fauna, and there are also the odd beaver dam to marvel at here.

The route back to Mosigkau takes a wide arc in the south around Dessau. At the end of the tour in the Garden Kingdom you can look forward to a visit to Mosigkau Castle with its equally expansive park. If the tour is too long for you, you can also split it into two smaller circular tours. A good base for an overnight stay is in the northern inner-city area of Dessau-Roßlau, for example.