Doberlug-Kirchhain: Nature Park and Tanning Craft

Experience the nature park and enjoy outdoor activities

The interactive multimedia exhibition at the erlebnisREICH Nature Park Visitor Centre is devoted to the history of the landscapes. In the castle grounds, young visitors can discover the landscapes and wildlife of the nature park on the erlebnisREICH outdoor activity trail. Activities include balance exercises in the moor and climbing routes through woodland and heath. These examples combine exercise with a look at the nature park’s diverse landscapes.

The visitor centre also offers bicycle hire and cycling maps. If you are planning a bike tour, the maps can help you find your way; check locally for the latest information on bicycle availability and maps. The exhibition, activity trail and cycling services offer different options: you can be interested in the history of the landscapes, outdoor activities or planning a bike tour without trying to fit everything into a single visit.

The White Tannery Museum and a town walk

At the White Tannery Museum, you can see leather and hides from around the world, as well as a shoemaker’s workshop and a journeyman’s room from the 19th century. The exhibits also include pewterware from Kirchhain and Doberlug. A working model demonstrating the technology of the white-tanning trade around 1900 complements the collection. The museum also explores the general and regional development of the tanning trade and leather industry. This brings together the world of traditional crafts, materials and local products.

The Historic Kirchhain Town Walk leads to the White Tannery Museum; the walk described then continues to a cemetery. The museum and walk thus offer two different ways to explore Kirchhain’s history: the museum focuses on crafts and its collection, while the route takes in other points of interest in the town. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Doberlug-Kirchhain, you can plan your stay around your interests: the nature park and outdoor activities, or the museum and local history.

More to explore in the wider Elbe-Elster destination

The wider Elbe-Elster destination also offers its own nature and culture experiences. The F60 Visitor Mine is in Elbe-Elster district, south of Lichterfeld. Visitors to the mine can explore nearby Bergheider Lake by bike or Segway, or take a walk along its long beach. These attractions are part of the Elbe-Elster region and complement Doberlug-Kirchhain’s local nature and museum experiences with a wider regional perspective.

Elbe-Elster offers several different examples of industrial heritage. The Louise briquette factory in Domsdorf is Europe’s oldest preserved briquette factory; it began operating in 1882. Visitors can experience working historic machinery and discover steam engines there. The Plessa power station is one of Europe’s oldest lignite-fired power stations and has retained its original structure. Visitors can see authentic power station technology from the 1920s. The guided “Coal Trail” tour passes through the outdoor bunker, boiler house, turbine hall, control room and transformer area.

The museum landscape also offers points of interest for history enthusiasts: since January 2015, four important museums in Elbe-Elster district have formed a joint museum network. The Museum Mühlberg 1547 explores the meeting of armies in 1547, which shaped the course of the Reformation, and bears the European Heritage Label. By comparison, the White Tannery Museum in Doberlug-Kirchhain focuses on crafts, the leather industry and local pewterware. You can decide whether to focus your trip on local craft history or on broader topics such as industry and the history of the Reformation.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Frankena, Hohenleipisch, Elsterwerda, Röderland, Gorden-Staupitz, Massen-Niederlausitz, Schönborn, Finsterwalde.

Back to the main travel overview: Elbe-Elster.