The state-approved resort town Ballenstedt lies on the northern edge of the Harz Mountains and has a long history. The town was once the ancestral seat of the Ascanians and the residence of the Dukes of Anhalt‑Bernburg.
The main attraction is Castle Ballenstedt, located on the Romanesque Road. It was surrounded by a spacious castle park designed by P. J. Lennè. Here, you can get insights into the history of Saxony‑Anhalt and see changing exhibitions of contemporary artists. In the park, you’ll discover water features such as the “spouting dragon” and the “water axis” in the style of Italian villa gardens, as well as rare trees and plants.
Ballenstedt is also associated with many painters and writers. The local museum hosts exhibitions about court painter Wilhelm Georg Alexander von Kügelgen (1833–1867 in Ballenstedt), as well as about the painter Caroline Bardua and her sister Wilhelmine. The Princess Pauline Library in the old town houses historical unique manuscripts. Also worth a visit is the palace theatre built in 1788, where Albert Lortzing and Franz Liszt once performed.
In the district of Rieder, you’ll find the Roseburg, a castle and garden complex created by Bernhard Sehring in 1910. It was built in the style of a medieval German castle and later extended by a mausoleum with a viewing tower. In the park and buildings, you can find elements of the Italian Renaissance, Baroque architecture and English landscape gardens, which give the complex a fairy‑tale atmosphere.
