Picnic with Franz and Gondola Ride at Twilight

Summer Evening in the UNESCO Garden Kingdom

The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000 and is considered one of the most beautiful English landscape gardens in continental Europe. Prince Franz of Anhalt-Dessau began laying it out in 1764, modeled after English examples – with a castle, library, Pantheon, synagogue, an artificial volcano (!), and extensive waterways, on which you can still ride in wooden gondolas today.

The "Picnic with Franz" is a deliberately staged summer event: Visitors gather with picnic blankets and baskets on the large lawn in front of Wörlitz Castle for a relaxed afternoon. Music groups perform, performers in costume appear as historical figures, there are games for families, and a deliberately slow-paced program. Admission to the picnic is included in the regular park entrance fee.

The highlight of the evening: the Gondola Ride at Twilight. As the sun sets over Wörlitz Lake and the sky turns to that special shade of blue that only appears briefly after sunset, wooden gondolas glide through the park's waterways. Ticket sales for the gondola rides begin on March 30th, the price is €25 per person, and places often sell out quickly.

Oranienbaum-Wörlitz is located in the Wittenberg district in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, between Dessau and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Those who are not yet familiar with the Garden Kingdom should plan a full day: Wörlitz Castle, the library, the Pantheon, the park, and the lake can all be explored well on foot and by gondola.