A highlight of a visit to Cottbus, about 35km southeast of Lübbenau, is this palace-and-park ensemble, which stems from the feverish brow of Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau (1785-1871) – aristocrat, writer, lady's man, eccentric and one of Germany's most formidable garden architects. From 1845 until his death, he turned his bleak ancestral family estate into an arcadian English-style park – shaping hills, moving trees, digging canals and lakes and building pyramid-shaped tumuli, one of which serves as his burial place.
For an introduction to this brilliant, if kooky, man, swing by the multimedia exhibit in the Gutshof (adult/concession €4.50/3.50;10am-5pm Apr-Oct), then see how his fascination for the exotic translated into his living space on a spin around the Schloss itself. Highlights in this late-baroque confection by Gottfried Semper (of Dresden opera fame) include such 'souvenirs' as 3000-year-old Egyptian burial urns and rooms clad in wallpaper patterned like oriental carpets. Temporary exhibits are housed in the Marstall (adult/concession €3.50/2.50; 11am-5pm May-Sep).
A combined ticket (adult/concession €10/7) is available, providing access to all three sites.
Trains to Lübben and Lübbenau continue on to Cottbus. Bus 10 makes the 4km trip from Cottbus train station to the park at least hourly (€1.50, 25 minutes).
