Guided local and regional tours

Tracing the footsteps of the Sorbs in Hoyerswerda

On this guided tour, you can find out all you need to know about the history, lifestyle, traditions and customs of the Sorbian/Wendish people who call Lusatia their home and who have continued to shape life in the region right through to the present day. Discover historic locations and visit the Trachtenhaus Jatzwauk, which is home to an impressive exhibition on traditional Sorbian dress and the historic art of blueprinting.

Where does the German phrase “blau machen” (to bunk off) come from? Why was the Christkind, the Sorbian gift-bringer, not allowed to speak?

Are you interested in discovering the origins of popular phrases and figures of speech? Would you like to rediscover words or objects of times gone by that have virtually disappeared in the present day?

If so, this interesting tour is sure to put a smile on your face and remain in your mind for many years to come.

You can find more information on this guided tour (in German) here.

Guided tour of Lübben, Lübbenau or Cottbus with “Spreewald-Christl” in her traditional Lower Sorbian dress

Enjoy a themed tour of a specific location and trace the footsteps of the Sorbs/Wends who have been living here for more than 1,000 years, use the Spree Forest as arable land and have been shaping Lusatia with their culture right through to the present day.

On a guided tour through the town of Lübben, you can learn about the Slavic gords, known as the “Burglehn” among the locals. Find out more about the Sorbian prince who once lived in the fort. Although the huge German Paul Gerhardt Church on Lübben’s market square dominates the townscape, the somewhat smaller Wendish Church is also an interesting location.

Get to know the “Lübbener Hain”, a small forest and Slavic ritual site containing a memorial stone honouring the Sorbian goddess Liuba. The tour also offers you the chance to listen to the sounds of the thousand-year-old Lower Sorbian language, explore the origins of the Spree Forest dialect and learn about how the distinctive, stunning traditional Sorbian costumes are made.

You can find out more about the guided tour (in German) here.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Guided tour of the filming locations of the TV show “Spreewaldkrimi” in Lübbenau – pó slědach wjerśeńskich městnow „błośańskego krimija“ w Lubnjowje

Wearing her traditional Lower Sorbian dress, “Spreewald-Christl” will take you to the filming locations of the German crime series “Spreewaldkrimi”, shown on ZDF, in the town of Lübbenau. Find out more about what goes on behind the scenes and gain an interesting insight into the dramatic and mysterious cases solved by Superintendent Thorsten Krüger.

You can find out more about the guided tour (in German) here.

Village walk through Schleife

This guided tour of the village of Schleife will provide you with an insight into Schleife’s church, local history, architecture, bilingualism, art and culture.

The parish of Schleife embodies tradition and landscape history. The village of Schleife itself is home to idyllic spots, historic architecture and Sorbian culture. It is the smallest of the four “Trachtenregionen” (regions with their own specific traditional dress) in the Sorbian settlement area, and its residents speak Schleife Sorbian, a mixture of Upper and Lower Sorbian. On the guided tour (held in German), you can find out all you need to know about local history, selected traditions and legends of the Schleife region and discover the village and its special features on an interesting walk.

You can find out more about the guided village tour of Schleife (in German) here.

Krabat-Mühle Schwarzkollm

The Krabat-Mühle Schwarzkollm is a replica of the so-called “Black Mill”, a key location in the Sorbian legend of Krabat that features in the book “The Black Mill” by Jurij Brězan and the novel “Krabat” by Otfried Preußler, as well as the feature film “Krabat”, which is based on Preußler’s novel. The current building is used as a cultural centre and tourist attraction. The “Erlebnishof Krabat-Mühle” is a complex of six buildings constructed using traditional building methods. As is typical of the region of Lusatia, the buildings are grouped together around a courtyard on a site covering 10,000m² at Koselbruch 22 in Schwarzkollm, an area of the town of Hoyerswerda in the Bautzen district.

You can find out more about the Krabat-Mühle (in German) here.

Discover Sorbian Bautzen on your own with your phone

We are pleased to invite you to come and explore, discover and experience wonderful Bautzen and the history of the Sorbs based in the town. Get mobile in Bautzen with your phone as your tour guide. Anyone who comes to the town of Bautzen as a tourist or visitor and is particularly interested in finding out more about the Sorbs can now make the most of a new opportunity to explore the town on foot. Using your mobile phone and the “Sorben Erleben” website, you can enjoy a virtual tour of Bautzen focusing on the cultural history of the Sorbs in the town. An integrated map will lead you to different stations and locations and tell you all you need to know about their history and significance to the Sorbian people.

The website currently offers five tours: Sites of Sorbian Schools in Bautzen, Sorbian Culture in Bautzen, Traces of Sorbian History in Bautzen, Sorbian Institutions in Bautzen and Religious Sorbian Places in Bautzen. The trilingual texts (in German, Sorbian and English) include historic and up-to-date photos of the locations. Users of the service can either choose one of the predefined tours of Bautzen or create their own individual tour plan.