In Harbke’s palace park, which covers around six hectares, a former Baroque pleasure garden meets a landscaped park. Rare trees of dendrological value, the palace ruins and the Neo-Gothic orangery dating from 1830/31 define the grounds. The park therefore offers several ways to explore its history: through the design of its gardens, its tree collection and its historic buildings.
Garden styles and architectural landmarks
A Baroque pleasure garden and a landscaped park follow different design principles; in Harbke, both are united within the same park. This combination draws attention not only to the palace ruins or the orangery, but also to the rare trees. Dendrologically valuable means that the trees are particularly significant from the perspective of arboriculture. Those interested in garden history can therefore also view the tree collection as part of the grounds. The orangery dates from 1830/31 and is designed in the Neo-Gothic style. It adds a clearly dated architectural landmark to the garden styles.
Access and getting around the palace park
When planning your visit, it is important to distinguish between the palace park and the palace courtyard: the palace park is open year-round free of charge, while the palace courtyard is accessible only during events. The main paths in the park are generally wheelchair accessible. Some sloping side paths are not suitable for everyone. The orangery has ramp access but no sanitary facilities. As conditions on site may change, it is advisable to check the access information again before your visit.
Other sights in Harbke
Harbke’s sights include St. Levin’s Church, dating from 1572 and associated with the Fritzsche-Treutmann organ; a wooden sundial from 1640; the tombstones of the von Veltheim family; and the Grauer Hof local history museum. The topics range from church and organ to historical timekeeping, tombstones and local history. If you would like to focus on a particular subject, you will find a range of points of interest without needing to consider all the sights part of the palace park.
Börde: Landscape and cultural heritage
In the Börde district, the landscape ranges from the fertile Börde region in the south to the meadows and wetlands of the Drömling in the north. The southern Börde is Germany’s largest contiguous area of black earth soil. In the centre of the district, wooded ridges and the Colbitz-Letzlinger Heide shape the landscape; the heathland is associated with Europe’s largest contiguous linden forest. This regional perspective expands Harbke’s garden history to include different types of landscape, without conflating the district’s features with those of the palace park.
In the broader Börde travel destination, notable sights include churches, monasteries, palaces, castles, museums and historic monuments. The Road of Romanesque Architecture includes ten different sites for visitors in the district. Hundisburg Castle is one of the most significant rural Baroque palaces in Saxony-Anhalt and is distinguished by its historic gardens and parkland. Its Baroque garden showcases symmetry and detailed horticultural artistry—a distinct way to explore the subject of gardens, alongside Harbke’s combination of a pleasure garden and a landscaped park.
Another area of interest in the broader Börde travel destination is the Hundisburg Brickworks Industrial Monument. It brings together a brickworks and a technical museum, featuring brick production using the hand-striking method, a coarse ceramics workshop for shaping and pottery, a building materials manufactory and a carpentry workshop. The historic narrow-gauge railway offers visitors a ride of around two kilometres, passing historic kilns, a bucket-chain excavator and the former clay pit. Garden art and industrial heritage thus stand side by side as distinct regional themes.
More destinations
Discover more destinations: Kroppenstedt, Sülldorf, Wanzleben-Börde, Gröningen, Oschersleben, Eilsleben, Colbitz, Ingersleben.
Back to the main travel guide: Börde.
