German Venice, the Sorbs and Prince Pückler's Gardens (Spreewald – Lower Lusatia – Muskau)

Lower Lusatia is a historic land lying on both banks of the Lusatian Neisse, which today forms the border between Poland and Germany. Once it was a coherent region with rich traditions and customs. Today, amid vast forests, wetlands and meadows, it hides extraordinary places and people whose lives we will tell. We will visit old Slavic strongholds to learn the fate of the Lusatians and all Polabian peoples. We will sail the Spree into the UNESCO Spreewald Biosphere Reserve to see from the river a unique, fully preserved inland delta ecosystem. We will also walk through some of the most beautiful gardens of 19th‑century Europe, designed by Hermann von Pückler, called the pineapple prince.

REGISTRATION: ZAPISY

PROGRAM:

DAY: 17 APRIL 2026 (FRIDAY)

• Meeting at 5:30 near the Palace of Culture and Science, in the parking lot opposite Kinoteka; departure towards Żary.
• Żary – walk around the town: Biberstein Castle, Promnitz Palace, the palace park, the parish church, the market with the Renaissance town hall portal and the royal post building that once connected Dresden and Warsaw (all objects viewed from the outside).
• Walk through the Szyszyna Valley – forest, bridges, the picturesque Szyszyna, ruins, the site of an old Slavic stronghold and a glade associated with the Roma poetess Papusza; ending in Biedrzychowice with a Romanesque church.
• Stronghold in Wicina – a site of the Lusatian culture from the Hallstatt period, an important archaeological location.
• Transfer to the hotel, check-in, dinner.

DAY: 18 APRIL 2026 (SATURDAY)

• Breakfast and transfer to Germany.
• Lübbenau/Lubnjow – Great Port, market and St. Nicholas Church; tourist boats depart from here.
• Lehde/Ledy – a village in the UNESCO Spreewald Biosphere Reserve, a living open-air museum and nature reserve, with traditional farms and gardens.
• Slavic stronghold in Raddusch – a reconstruction of a Sorbian stronghold from over 1000 years ago, with wooden-earth ramparts and a moat.
• Park-and-palace complex in Branitz – the residence of Hermann von Pückler, with originally preserved interiors and a park with pyramids.
• An evening with Lusatian legends – by the bonfire (weather permitting), stories about beliefs and the epic of Krabat.

DAY: 19 APRIL 2026 (SUNDAY)

• Breakfast, check-out and transfer to Germany.
• Cottbus – the market with townhouses, the “Under the Lion” pharmacy, the Grodków tower and the mint tower; a walk along the Spree.
• Rakotzbrücke in Kromlau/Kromola – a picturesque basalt bridge in a romantic park.
• Bad Muskau – the palace and park on the Muskau Arc, listed as UNESCO; stories about the life of Count von Pückler.
• Departure for the return journey; arrival in Warsaw around 23:00.

Price: 1250 zł + 55 euro

We cordially invite you!

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