Bad Muskau
Bad Muskau is a spa town in northeastern Saxony, Germany, on the border with Poland. It is known for its palace and extensive landscape gardens that are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Understand
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phone: +49 35771 50492address: Schloßstr. 6, 02953 Bad Muskau
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Tourismuszentrum Muskauer Park
phone: +49 35771 63100address: Neues Schloss, 02953 Bad MuskauContact to book guided tours of the park, visits of the tower, accomodations, tips for excursions; sells hiking maps, books and postcards.
Get in
Regular rail service to Bad Muskau was seized. The nearest station that is still served is in Weißwasser (9 km from Bad Muskau) from where you have to continue by bus, or ask your hotel to pick you up (some of them offer this service). By train and bus it takes 2:45 hours from Dresden (change in Görlitz and Weißwasser), 2:50 from Berlin (change in Cottbus and Döbern). From either Görlitz or Cottbus it is a 1:10 hours ride.
ZVON combi-tickets are valid both in local trains and busses. With an international EURO-NEISSE-Ticket, you may even cross the border to the neighbouring parts of Poland.
Only during the summer months, there is a heritage small-gauge railway from Weißwasser to Bad Muskau. It is however used for amusement rather than as an actual means of transportation.
The most comfortable way to get in is by car. From the Berlin area, take autobahn A 15 to exit no. 6 Roggosen, then follow the road to Döbern and finally the B 115 to Bad Muskau. From Dresden, take A 4 to exit no. 90 Bautzen-Ost, then follow B 165 road to Bad Muskau. The 160 km drive from Berlin takes about two hours, the 120 km from Dresden about 1½ hours. Both Cottbus and Görlitz are 40 km (40 minutes) from Bad Muskau.
Finally, Bad Muskau is located right on the Oder-Neisse Cycle Route, a well-paved and signposted bike trail along the German-Polish border rivers. It is a 66 km ride from Görlitz, 61 km from Guben.
Get around
As the parks are quite vast, a good means to get around is by bike. If you do not arrive on two wheels anyway, you may rent one on site.
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Fahrrad-Nowak
phone: +49 172 3864778address: Alte Schmiede, Bauhof 1, 02953 Bad Muskau
See
Fürst-Pückler-ParkMuskau's main attraction. With an area of 2050 acres, it is the largest English-style landscape garden in continental Europe. In 2004 it was listed as a World Heritage site. The park's creator, Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, was keen on variety, his motto was "A park must be like an art gallery, every few steps you should see a new picture." Consequently, the park features copious meadows, majestic trees, curved paths, picturesque lakes and rivers, unique bridges and buildings. Especially characteristic are the park's surprising, long vistas. The park is open daily, all year, admission is free.
Old Castle
New CastleReopened in 2012 after careful renovation. Houses the exhibition "Pückler! Catch him if you can?". Innovative, multi-faceted and comprehensive exposition on the erstwhile lord of the manor, Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau, dedicated to his different roles (ruler, adventurer, landscape artist, writer, bon vivant). With several interactive options (like a "love letter machine" that automatically writes a suitable love letter after you tweak some settings—Pückler has written thousands of letters, sometimes using recurring, only slightly varied text modules), lovingly designed animations and displays, short film scenes as well as little audio plays and texts recited by actors. While some of the stations might only unfold their whole allure if you have some knowledge of German language and culture, most of the texts are also available in English, and the activities are simply fun, no matter what language you speak.
- historical palm and cactus house
- Cavalier house, nowadays used as peat bath
- Moorish-style Orangerie
Two thirds of the park are on the Polish side of the border. Both parts are linked by bridges that may be crossed without border controls (but you have to carry your passport or ID card).
Do
- Bad Muskau's "Garden Realm" may be discovered by bike or on foot, by boat or carriage.
- From April to October there are public guided tours of the park (1½ to two hours) each Saturday, Sunday and public holiday at 2PM. Meeting point is at the tourist centre in the New Castle, costs € 4 per person. There is another tour all year, each Saturday at 2PM, starting from the Kulturhotel and mainly targeting spa and hotel guests (same price).
- The tourist centre arranges tours by horse carriage with local carters.
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Neiße-Tours offers zodiac tours on the Neisse river from the old weir to Żarki Wielkie with return transport.
Waldeisenbahn Muskau600-mm gauge heritage railway linking Bad Muskau with Weißwasser. It runs on weekends from May to September, additionally on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays in July and August and around Easter. Moreover, there are some special events throughout the year (see current calendar on the website). Sometimes, the trains are pulled by steam locomotives, more often historical diesel-powered field railway locomotives are deployed.
Eat
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Restaurant "Grüner Fürst"
address: Kulturhotel, Schloßstraße 8Combination of international cuisine with regional and seasonal products (e.g. chanterelles, asparagus, venison).
Drink
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phone: +49 35771 639237address: Schlossstraße 2
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Hermanns-Theke
phone: +49 35771 64230address: Clara-Zetkin-Str. 27Pub with billiards and darts
Sleep
;Bed and breakfast
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phone: +49 35771 50425address: Schulstr. 15, Bad-Muskau OT Köbeln
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phone: +49 35771 60271address: Kirchstraße 53, 02953 Bad Muskau
;Holiday flats
Holiday flats in Fürst-Pückler-ParkFour holiday flats (max. two persons each, 49–59 m²) located directly within the Muskau Park, close to the Oder-Neisse Cycle Route. Each with bathroom (shower), kitchen equipped with electric cooker, fridge, sink, water kettle, coffee machine, crockery; TV. Linens and dishtowels are included; face towels can be rented for € 5 per person.
;Hotels
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phone: +49 35771 5230address: Köbelner Straße 68, 02953 Bad MuskauSmall three-star hotel (13 rooms) in a quiet environment on the outskirts of the town (700 m off the entrance to the park). All rooms with shower/WC, radio/TV, phone, free WiFi; restaurant.
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phone: +49 35771 686 0address: Schulstr. 45, 02953 Bad MuskauWith restaurant.
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Kulturhotel Fürst Pückler Park
phone: +49 35771 5330address: Schloßstraße 8, 02953 Bad MuskauLarge four-star hotel (100 rooms, including five suites) on the marketplace, directly next to the park entrance; standard rooms are 20m²; special rooms for handicapped people and allergy sufferers; non-smoking hotel, barrier-free; wellness area, sauna, gym, beauty and wellness packages; restaurant. Holiday and themed arrangements (wellness, romance, culinary etc). Pickup at Weißwasser train station included; collection from other places within 150 km on request and surcharge.
Nearby
Azalea and Rhododendron park KromlauNearly 500 ares-large landscape garden, created by landowner Friedrich Hermann Rötschke—a contemporary of Prince Hermann von Pückler—starting in 1844. He directed the planting of both domestic and exotic plants as well as the arranging of artificial rock formations and landscape sculptures (like caves, grottos, pyramids) made of basalt from Saxon Switzerland and Bohemia. After Count Egloffstein-Arklitten acquired the park in 1893, he hired landscape gardener Georg Eichler to redesign the park with rhododendrons and azalea that still dominate the park's flora. The park includes a 18th-century mansion and the very picturesque Rakotz bridge (colloquially called "devil's bridge").
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Lausitzer Findlingspark Nochten
address: north of Nochten, 02943 Boxberg/OberlausitzLandscape garden covering some 50 acres in a recultivated former lignite mine. About 6000 boulders, witnesses of the ice age in Central Europe, that were in the way of the excavators' giant shovels, were collected and arranged here, surrounded by artificial hills and a variety of different plants, including rhododendrons, succulents, perennials and heather.