Discover Rehsen: Ring Dike, Church and Lake

Rehsen combines an almost completely preserved ring dike with a brick and clinker-brick church, listed colonist houses, and Lake Rehsen. It is also home to a guardhouse with a remarkable connection to Switzerland. These different themes offer several ways to explore the village: landscape engineering, architecture, cultural history, or recreation by the water.

A Ring Dike with Floodgates

Rehsen is the only village in Saxony-Anhalt with an almost completely preserved ring dike and dike openings known as Stöpen. The name Stöpen refers to the openings; the ring dike means the entire structure. This distinction makes both the landscape feature as a whole and a specific architectural detail easy to understand. For travellers interested in historic landscape design, the combination of the largely preserved dike and its named openings offers a distinctive way to explore Rehsen.

Church and Architecture

The Evangelical Church of Rehsen is built of brick and clinker brick. A square roof turret made of plastered half-timbering stands at the west front. The exterior thus brings together different materials and construction methods, with the turret providing a distinctive accent. Inside, the particularly noteworthy Baroque pulpit altar is another focal point. The church offers several details to appreciate: the combination of materials, the turret at the west front, and the Baroque furnishings.

The colonist houses are also individually listed buildings. They broaden the view of Rehsen’s architecture beyond the church and add further protected houses to the village’s architectural history.

World Heritage and Architectural History

Since 2000, Rehsen has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz and is protected as a historic monument. This status places the village’s individual features in a broader cultural context.

The newly built guardhouse was modelled on the ossuary near Murten in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. On 18 April 1800, Princess Louise noted that she had travelled to Rehsen to see it as the “Murten Ossuary.” This story connects a specific building in Rehsen with a model in Switzerland. The date and purpose of Princess Louise’s journey make this connection a distinctive chapter in the village’s history.

Leisure at Lake Rehsen

Lake Rehsen, with its kiosk, is a popular destination for leisure and local recreation. This gives you a leisure option alongside the historical and architectural themes. If the kiosk is important to your visit, check in advance whether it is open.

Choose the Right Focus

When choosing accommodation, consider what draws you to Rehsen: the ring dike, the architectural and cultural history, or the lake as a place for leisure and local recreation. If you are planning together, you can first weigh up these different interests. This can help you decide what to focus on before looking for accommodation for your stay in Rehsen.

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