3-ferry tour

Short Description

A cycling route through small towns in the natural Elbe area involving 3 ferries over the Elbe and Saale rivers.

Description

Route

The 3-Ferry Tour is a classic connection of the two long-distance cycling routes Elbe Cycle Route and Saale Cycle Route. The tour covers a total distance of about 24 km. We suggest starting this tour in Barby. However, this tour can also be started from any other location.

From Barby, we cross the Elbe with the Gier ferry and head towards Walternienburg on the L51. Just under 500 meters after crossing the Elbe, in the small town of Ronney, there is the first opportunity to visit the environmental center. We cycle along the L51 to Walternienburg with a wonderful view of the water castle on the right. In Walternienburg, we come across the Elbe Cycle Route, which is ridden southwards to Tochheim. From now on, we continue on the 3-Ferry Tour through the Steckby-Lödderitzer Forst nature reserve.

Arriving in the former shipper village of Breitenhagen, a visit to the ship restaurant Marie-Gerda at the well-known water tourism location is a must.

From now on, the path leads us almost exclusively on the newly expanded dyke crest to Groß Rosenburg. At the canoe dock in Groß Rosenburg, there is a rest area for cycling tourists (Blue Ribbon). A visit to the ruins of Rosenburg Castle, which is the last castle on the Saale before it flows into the Elbe, is a must. The tour then takes us through the Auenwald Hasselbusch to Groß Rosenburg to the Gier cable ferry over the Saale. There is also a rest area (Blue Ribbon) here.

After crossing the Saale, we cycle on the conventional Saale Cycle Route to Tornitz and back to Barby. Before the evening ends, be sure to visit some sights and monuments in the historical city center of Barby.

Text: http://www.stadt-barby.de/de/3-faehren-tour.html

Attractions

Barby:

• Baroque Palace (built 1687-1715 as a residence palace under Duke Heinrich of Saxony-Weißenfels)
• Marien Church (1250-1280 / 16th century renovated) Johanniskirche (13th century)
• City wall with watchtowers Prinzeßchen - now a gallery - and Prinz
• Kunsthof Augustusgabe (former manor, gifted by Duke August of Saxony to his wife as a morning gift in 1665, current Baroque building of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde from 1754)

Werkleitz:

• Village church, Romanesque substructure, Ferry Winch House, 1620

Rosenburg:

• Village church (around 1536)
• Rosenburg Castle Ruins (mentioned in 965)

Breitenhagen:

• Village church (1625), Paltrockmühle
• Museum Ship Marie-Gerda (1914)

Directions

see Description

Additional Information

Gier Cable Ferries of the Elbe and Saale

A special feature of this tour is the Gier cable ferries of the Elbe and Saale. In the mid-17th century, a Dutchman invented the technology of Gier ferries. The ferry uses the current of the river to propel itself during the gieren (swinging of a ship around the vertical axis: occurs when the ship runs off course due to diagonal waves or winds from the front or aft). The ferry is attached to a cable anchored in the riverbed, and by tilting the ferry to the current, it is pushed to the other bank.

Directions

Follow State Road L51 from Schönebeck to Barby

Parking Information

at the Barby ferry stop

Safety Information

no special requirements

Equipment

no special requirements