Why this ride
A 99 km round trip from Dessau - roughly 1 h 49 in the saddle. The stops in between: Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz, The Castle Church and back through Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Palace Mosigkau and The Castle Church
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 99 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 49
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Palace Mosigkau → Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz
The ride follows Palace Mosigkau → Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz for 27 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 27 km
Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz → The Castle Church
20 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 23 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Palace Mosigkau
Palace Mosigkau is a small Rococo palace on the edge of Dessau, in Saxony-Anhalt, and its story is that of a princess who wanted a house of her own. It was built in the middle of the eighteenth century for Anna Wilhelmine, a daughter of the Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau, known as the Old Dessauer, a military commander of the Prussian army. She did not marry, and after she died the palace became a noble ladies' foundation, a Damenstift, where unmarried women of good family could live in comfort. Its name sits within the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, a landscape of palaces and parks created in the age of the Enlightenment, which UNESCO has listed.
Read the complete Palace Mosigkau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Palace Mosigkau is where the day begins. Next is Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz.
2. Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz
In the late eighteenth century, a small German principality decided to remake its entire landscape as a work of art. Prince Leopold III Friedrich Franz of Anhalt-Dessau, inspired by travels in England and by the ideas of the Enlightenment, created a vast network of parks, gardens, palaces and estates along the Elbe and Mulde rivers, combining beauty, education and agriculture. The result, the Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz, is one of the earliest and largest landscape gardens in continental Europe, and it was listed by UNESCO in 2000.
Read the complete Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Castle Church.
3. The Castle Church
On 31 October 1517, according to tradition, a professor of theology named Martin Luther nailed a list of ninety five theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, challenging the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church. Whether he actually used a hammer is debated by historians, but the theses spread rapidly across Germany and beyond, thanks to the printing press, and they sparked the Reformation, which transformed the religious, political and cultural life of Europe. The original wooden door was destroyed by fire in 1760, and in 1858 it was replaced by bronze doors bearing the text of the theses in Latin. Luther is buried inside the church, as is his friend and colleague Philipp Melanchthon.
Read the complete The Castle Church write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 50 km into the recorded legs you reach The Castle Church. Next is back through Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz.
4. back through Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz, late in the day. Next is Palace Mosigkau.
5. Palace Mosigkau
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Palace Mosigkau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Palace Mosigkau. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Palace Mosigkau to Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz
Palace Mosigkau → Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz to The Castle Church
Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz → The Castle Church is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Castle Church to back through Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz
The Castle Church → back through Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz to Palace Mosigkau
back through Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz → Palace Mosigkau is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.