The newly signposted circular hiking trail connects the Zabeltitz Castle and park grounds with the pond landscape of the Röderaue and is one of the 12 selected favorite hiking trails in Dresden Elbland.
This approximately 16-kilometer-long, flat, and easily accessible loop trail connects Zabeltitz Castle, the palace, and the Baroque garden with the waterways and lakes of the Röderaue, winding through a charming landscape that alternates between forest and open fields and meadows.
The tour starts either at Parking Lot 2 of the Zabeltitz Baroque Garden or in Frauenhain at the Schlossteich. It winds through forests with old-growth trees, open countryside, pastures, fields, ponds, and waterways, connecting two cultural landscapes in the Meissen district: the Röderaue and the Großenhainer Pflege.
The cultural highlight of the tour is the Zabeltitz Baroque Garden with its castle and palace. Magnificent tree-lined avenues, hedgerows, and the “Lustwäldchen” (pleasure grove) invite you to take a leisurely stroll. Artistic sandstone sculptures add a touch of elegance, and the splendor of the park is reflected in the waters of the unique pond system. Built on the site of a former moated castle, the palace, together with the “Old Castle,” forms a charming ensemble of Baroque and Renaissance architecture. The park is one of the largest and most significant French-style gardens in Saxony that has retained its original layout. It took on its current form starting in 1728, commissioned by Imperial Count von Wackerbarth and designed by Johann Christoph Knöffel.
The Zabeltitz Farm Museum is located in an old three-sided farmstead built around 1810. With numerous artifacts from the rural past of the villages around Zabeltitz, it illustrates the life of a middle-class farming family in the Großenhain district at the beginning of the 20th century.
St. George’s Church in Zabeltitz is also well worth a visit. It was built in 1580–81 to replace the old wooden church dating from 1495. The sandstone altar and the baptismal font are the work of the Dresden sculptor Christian Walther II. Imperial Count August Christoph von Wackerbarth is buried in this small village church.
Along the way, you’ll find numerous other natural and cultural attractions, such as the Geißlitz sheep bridge, the Zabeltitz fork weir, the village churches in Görzig and Frauenhain, and the various pond landscapes and floodplains.
You can download the brochure for the popular hiking trail “Auwaldtour” here:
https://www.dresden-elbland.de/r/611576097?page=media%2Fdownload
The Auwaldtour on Komoot:
