Mosigkau Castle and Park

Mosigkau Castle was built as a summer residence for Princess Anna Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Dessau (1715-1780). Now affectionately referred to as a "little Sanssouci", the palace complex is one of the last largely preserved rococo ensembles in central Germany.

From here, you can enjoy a wonderful view of the small pleasure garden. There, the colorful summer flowers, the hedgerows with the bowling alley arbor and the maze are alluring. Some of the orangeries are home to centuries-old exotic potted plants, which adorn the garden parterre in the summer months.

The favorite daughter of Prince Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau, Anna Wilhelmine, had Mosigkau Palace built from 1752. The first designs for it were probably drawn up by the architect of Sanssouci Palace, Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff. The unmarried princess also helped to design the house herself with great skill and sensitivity. The highlight of the Rococo ensemble is the Garden Hall. It contains one of the rare, almost completely preserved so-called Baroque painting hangings in Europe. These include remarkable works mainly by Flemish and Dutch masters, including Anthonis van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder.

The princess used her summer residence to take the cures prescribed by her doctor with spa water, herbs and plenty of exercise and often received visitors. According to tradition, a stay in Mosigkau with dinners, promenades and the enjoyment of art was always a special experience that even today's visitors should not miss out on.

After the death of the lady of the castle in 1780, a convent for unmarried noblewomen was established in the castle in accordance with her will, which existed until 1945.