Altdöbern

Altdöbern is a municipality in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany.GeographyAltdöbern lies in Lower Lusatia, but is not part of its sorbian inhabited area. The flat landscape is dominated by large forests and new lakes created from the remainings of former opencast lignite mines since the 1990s. One of these is 880 ha (2200 acre) large Altdöberner See, east of the town. Its flooding is planned to be finished in the 2020s.The municipality of Altdöbern also contains the settlements Pritzen, Peitzendorf and Chransdorf and the villages Ranzow and Reddern.The municipalities of Altdöbern, Bronkow, Luckaitztal, Neupetershain (Nowe Wiki) and Neu-Seeland together form the municipal federation Amt Altdöbern.Culture and architectureThe baroque castle of Altdöbern (Schloss Altdöbern) with its surrounding park (Schlosspark) is just northwest of the central market square (Markt). The first castle was built in the 16th century in renaissance style, but later replaced by a new building in baroque architecture including rococo elements. Intense restorations are still in progress, but the interior of the castle can be visited during special events such as the annual park festival (Parksommerträume). The landscape park also contains a small French garden and the large Salzteich lake.