The Small Tour of Village Churches

Niederlausitz is one of the best-preserved church landscapes in the state of Brandenburg. You will also find many well-preserved churches in Guben and the surrounding area. Visit the churches from different periods and styles, which are undoubtedly architectural treasures of the region and look back on a long history.

Start at the Guben tourist information office. Follow the road towards Cottbus until you reach Cottbuser Straße. At the end of the incline, the Jewish cemetery is on the right. There you will also find the Bergkapelle, the cemetery's mourning hall, which has been used as a church by the Protestant community of Guben since 1951. At the next crossroads, you can take a detour to the right to the Catholic Church of St. Mary. The path leads through the Guben flowing valleys to the district of Kaltenborn and through the Kaltenborn mountains to Kerkwitz. Here the foundation stone of the Gustav Adolf Church was laid in 1951, which was consecrated just one year later. Since 1980 there has been an organ, which comes from Göhlen. The "talking wall" is also located there. To get to Atterwasch, drive back to the railway subway and then on to Lake Deulowitz. It is a popular bathing lake, but also good for a rowing or pedal boat trip. The route continues to Atterwasch. The village church is the oldest church in the region. It was built around 1220. After the 30 Years' War, only the foundation walls and the east gable with the tabernacle and frescoes above were preserved. Around 1685, it was rebuilt and consecrated again. The Grünberg/Stettin company built the organ in 1905 and it is one of the few historical Grünberg organs still preserved today. The route continues via Schenkendöbern to the village church in Grano. Built on the old foundations in 1854, it is now a listed building. The wooden tower is covered with 3,600 oak shingles which were attached with around 12,000 copper nails. Further north, past Lauschütz, is the fieldstone church of Sembten. It was first mentioned as a daughter church of Grano in 1718, which is probably also the year construction began. One of the three bronze bells from 1533 is still in the bell tower. The route continues on a quiet country road back towards Guben. Here you reach the last stop of the tour in the district of Groß Breesen. Groß Breesen is also the birthplace of the composer Johann Crüger (1598-1662). The church contains a baptismal angel from 1705, which was restored and put back into use in 2010. Back in Guben, it is worth making a detour to the monastery church in the centre of town, where this tour ends.

Length: 51 km
Start/finish: Guben tourist information office

Route:
Tourist information Guben - Kerkwitz - Atterwasch - Grano - Sembten - Steinsdorf - Groß Breesen - Guben.

Junction signpost
The day tour "The Little Village Church Tour" can also be cycled along junctions using the new signposting system. The following junctions are passed at the start/finish in Guben (junction 74):
74, 34, 32, 31, 75, 27, 21, 24, 26, 25, 39, 38, 41, 38, 39, 22, 18, 17, 13, 12, 11, 3, 2, follow signs to Steinsdorf, then towards Coschen and Ooder-Neisse cycle path towards Guben, 15, 16, 73, 28, 29.

Route conditions:
Mainly asphalt cycle paths, few sections on quiet country roads or firm forest paths, mainly flat, only a few sections slightly hilly.

Sights along the route:

• Guben churches: Bergkapelle Guben, Marienkirche Guben, Klosterkirche.
• Village churches: Kerkwitz, Atterwasch, Grano, Sembten, Steinsdorf, Groß Breesen
• Twin town of Guben-Gubin
• Vineyard Grano
• Grano Castle
• Lake Deulowitz

Gastro tips:

• Bergschänke Bresinchen in Guben OT Bresinchen
• Flemming's Gasthaus in Atterwasch

Some of the churches listed belong to the circle of open churches. You can find out when the churches are open on the internet. Opening hours cannot always be guaranteed in the villages. Often the church keys are available from residents of the village, so it is worth asking in the village:

• Gustav Adolph Church Kerkwitz: Irmgard Hanschke, Hauptstraße 2
• Village church Atterwasch: Rectory, (in summer "open church")
• Grano village church: Schulz family, Hauptstraße 4
• Village church Sembten: Zacher family, Schulstraße 3
• Village church Steinsdorf: (in summer "open church")
• Groß Breesen Church: Rectory, Melchert family
• Guben mountain chapel
• Klosterkirche Guben: (in summer "open church")