Moving landscape in transition
Great heritage! Unique landscape art
The legacy of Hermann Prince von Pückler-Muskau can still be experienced today in Muskauer Park. Garden art, nature painting, landscape composition - and the whole thing transcends national borders on both sides of the Neisse. Today, around two thirds of the park lies on the Polish side. The park is the largest English-style landscape park in Central Europe - and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2004.
Great heritage! Created from the Ice Age and industrial culture
The Muskau Arch has been listed as a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2015. Its current landscape was formed by a huge glacier and shaped by many years of mining. Today, you will mainly find natural valleys, hundreds of narrow mining lakes that shimmer in all colors and the Devil's Stone: the largest boulder in the Folded Arch, with clearly visible indentations, naturally from the claws of the devil.
Great heritage! Extensive nature conservation
The Upper Lusatian Heath and Pond Landscape Biosphere Reserve is the largest contiguous pond area in Central Europe, the only biosphere reserve in Saxony and the habitat of many rare plants and animals. And of course the Lusatian fish: ponds for fish farming have been created here since the 13th century and connected by canals. Today, the UNESCO-recognized biosphere reserve is characterized by a harmonious and sustainable coexistence of man and nature. Those seeking peace and quiet, cycling and hiking enthusiasts will get their money's worth on the predominantly flat land.
Great heritage! Unmistakable Spreewald
The Spreewald has been protected as a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 1991. Many rare animals and plants make their home in the inland river delta of the Spree. 300 kilometers of waterways are lined with meadows, forests, pastures and lovingly restored log cabins thatched with straw and reeds. The region has traditionally been strongly influenced by the Sorbs for a very long time. They settled in the Spreewald during the migration of peoples in the 6th century.
Great heritage! Living traditions
We have often been cultivating our traditions and customs for centuries. The cultivation of ponds for fish farming has been a living tradition here since the 13th century. The artistic decoration of eggs with wax became a popular Sorbian custom at Easter between the 16th and 17th centuries. And we have been experiencing the "blue wonder" of blue printing in Pulsnitz for around 400 years. The Christmas star among the traditions seems almost youthful: since the beginning of the 19th century, a Herrnhut star, usually self-assembled, has been shining in many houses during Advent.
Great heritage! The industrial culture
Nothing has had such an impressive and lasting impact on the Lusatian landscape and people as opencast lignite mining. At present, a multi-layered transformation process can be actively experienced. However, the traces of the past are not being erased, but remain part of the emerging future face of the region. These are impressive places where the recent industrial past can be seen and felt.
Like hardly any other region in Germany, Lusatia stands for enormous contrasts in a very small area. Contrasts that are the result of constant change. Landscape and people are shaped by nature. Man, in turn, has strongly influenced nature and the landscape. The large-scale exploitation of its natural resources in the industrial age has left its mark. Nevertheless, there are still timeless natural landscapes to discover today. It is the "great heritage" of the past centuries that characterizes life in Lusatia today and will also accompany the upcoming structural change.
The "great heritage" is reflected in the special landscape, but also in the architecture and life in this region. With World Heritage, Geopark, Biosphere Reserves and Intangible Heritage, four different UNESCO titles have been awarded to the Lusatian region - which is unparalleled worldwide. The World Heritage Site Muskauer Park/ Park Mużakowski, the Geopark Muskauer Faltenbogen/ Łuk Mużakowa , the biosphere reserve Oberlausitzer Heide- und Teichlandschaft and the intangible heritage of blue printingare particularly worthy of protection in the opinion of UNESCO.
UNESCO-listed cultural and natural heritage sites, man-made cultural landscapes, areas shaped by open-cast mining and a strong sense of tradition - this is the extraordinary mix that makes Lusatia one of the most exciting regions in the heart of Europe.
Großes Erbe Faltkarte
Wie kaum eine andere Region Deutschlands steht die Lausitz für gewaltige Gegensätze auf engstem Raum. Gegensätze als Ergebnis eines ständigen Wandels. So prägen noch immer Wunden die Landschaft der Lausitz, allerdings im Kontrast zur Lieblichkeit der englischen Gartenkunst historischer Parkanlagen. Und die Landschaft heilt nach und nach.
Aus Bräuchen und Gegensätzen wird hier Welterbe geschaffen. Von der UNESCO ausgezeichnete Kultur- und Naturerbestätten, Kulturlandschaften, vom Tagebau geprägte Gegenden oder Städte wie Görlitz und Bautzen sind Leuchttürme der Region. Sie erzählen Geschichten, die teils Jahrhunderte überspannen. All das nennen wir unser großes Erbe, welchem wir uns verpflichtet fühlen.
Ausgezeichnet! Großes Erbe im Lausitzer Land
Lassen Sie sich inspirieren von dieser Broschüre, tauchen Sie ein in die Geschichte der Lausitz, ihre Landschaften und Gegensätze,
ihre Architektur und Traditionen. Und gehen Sie selbst auf Entdeckungsreise, bevor es alle tun – das große Erbe wartet auf Sie!
