Muskau Park

Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau began this park in 1815 and worked on it for thirty years, spending his fortune and eventually selling the estate; he wrote a book on landscape gardening based on the experience that influenced designers including Frederick Law Olmsted. The park covers about eight hundred and thirty hectares along the Neisse, and since 1945 the river has been the German-Polish border, so roughly two thirds lie in Poland. Restoration has been carried out jointly since the 1990s, with bridges rebuilt across the river, and UNESCO listed the whole park in 2004 as a transboundary site. The New Castle was rebuilt after wartime destruction.

What you actually see

• The divided park - one design split across a river border, restored jointly.
• The Pückler landscape - a park whose principles shaped later designers.
• The rebuilt bridges - crossings restored to reconnect the two halves.
• The New Castle - a reconstructed house with an exhibition on Pückler.

When to go

April to October; crossing to the Polish side requires nothing more than walking over a bridge. The castle closes Mondays and in winter.

Honest expectations

The park is very large and needs hours or a bicycle. The Polish side has fewer facilities. The castle is a postwar reconstruction.

Nearby

Branitz lies northwest; Görlitz is south.