Prince Pückler himself once stated that his inherited estate was located in a half-desert, amidst forests and only surrounded by wolves, wild boars, farmers and stupid men. This region nowadays still has very much a frontier feel: rural, empty, with dark impenetrable forest. Place names are spelled in both German and Polish. During the Cold War this must have been a true eerie place. The ICOMOS evaluation stated that because of the isolated location ‘over-visiting seems unlikely’.

A brand new permanent exhibition on the life and ideas of the dandy and extravagant Prince is on show in the New Castle, the focal point of the park. This man was a very serious traveller: he had visited more sites that have become WHS than many of us now. He visited England often and ‘did’ an extensive Grand Tour around Europe and the Middle East. He travelled for a year in Egypt (even bought a slave girl there), arrived in Algiers (after missing the boat to the USA), was received by the Bey of Tunis and attended the wedding of Napoleon in Paris. He saw Blenheim, Schönbrunn, Naples, Athens, Damascus, the Pyramids. And all was used as inspiration for his work, but not without staying critical and developing his own vision.

Muskauer Park is Pückler’s major work as a garden designer (Babelsberg in Potsdam is another). About 40% of the park is located in Germany, and the rest in Poland. Bridges across the Neisse River connect both sides of the park. One can freely wander from the German side to the Polish side. The park is very large, too large to all explore on foot. It’s not dotted with ornaments – its strongest points definitely are the ‘natural’ open views. Very fine for walking and cycling. And don’t miss the museum in the New Castle where renovations just have finished.