Hans Kohlhase, a citizen and merchant from Brandenburg who had previously been of good character, took two horses from his breeding to the Leipzig trade fair. In Wellaune, now a district of Bad Düben, he was only allowed to continue his journey if he left his animals behind. This led to a legal dispute with Günter von Zaschnitz, the lord of the manor of Schnaditz near Düben. The dispute escalated because Kohlhase believed he was in the right. After several failed mediations - including one by Martin Luther, who urged him to exercise moderation - Kohlhase declared feud with the Junker of Zaschnitz and Saxony. After a spectacular silver robbery, Kohlhase and his journeyman were arrested in 1540 and put on trial, as a result of which both were broken on the wheel in Berlin. In 1810, Heinrich von Kleist's novella "Michael Kohlhaas" was published, in which the historical figure was processed in literary form and aspects such as law, justice and vigilantism are illuminated.
Protestants and crowned heads under the protection of the thousand-year-old castle
Today's Bad Düben was first mentioned by name in 981 as "urbs dibni" (Dibni or Düben Castle), as described by Bishop Thietmar of Merseburg in a chronicle in 1015. Over the centuries, the name of the place changed many times until it became known as Düben in 1749. The castle that gave the town its name, north of the Mulde, has remained in its current location for over a thousand years and can look back on a lively history. After Flemish immigrants founded the community of Neumark in the vicinity around 1200 and Frankish and Saxon settlers took over former Slavic farmsteads in the area, the town of Düben developed under its protection.
Important traces of the Reformation lead through Bad Düben. Many reformers who worked at the University of Wittenberg used the route through the Düben Heath and the local crossing over the Mulde on their way to Leipzig. Martin Luther and his wife Katharina von Bora also often stopped here. Martin Luther introduced the Reformation in Düben in 1519. For this reason, the town is the first stop on the Luther Trail Saxony, which connects 550 places associated with the Reformation on a circular hiking trail of over 27 kilometers.
The Thirty Years' War also left its mark in Bad Düben. Shortly before the Battle of Breitenfeld in 1618, which had a major impact on the war from 1648 to 1631, King Gustav Adolf I of Sweden and Elector Johann Georg of Saxony met in Bad Düben. They united their two armies here. The Gustav Adolf Stone commemorates this today. The Protestants achieved an outstanding victory against the Catholic commander Tilly. In 1813, history was made again in Bad Düben when the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte set up his temporary headquarters in the castle. After Napoleon's final defeat, Bad Düben was incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia after the Congress of Vienna in 1815.
As early as the Middle Ages, alum salts were extracted near the town, which were necessary for tanning and dyeing. The sixth largest alum plant in the world was in operation until the end of the 19th century. From 1900 onwards, the town developed into a spa thanks to its moor mud and mineral water deposits. Bad Düben has been a state-approved spa since 1948.
Bad Düben today - natural idyll and cultural city
The lovingly renovated old town of Bad Düben is worth seeing. In the center of the town is the striking Protestant town church of St. Nikolai. Its 63-meter-high tower towers high into the sky. The restored town hall offers a special photo opportunity under the town hall clock: between 9 a.m. and 18 p.m., on the hour, two billy goats symbolically bang their horns under the clock on the town hall tower. The Dübener Heide Nature Park House at the entrance to the town houses the tourist information office and a permanent multimedia exhibition on the Dübener Heide Nature Park. Special exhibitions and cultural and scientific events also take place here.
Anyone interested in the development of the town's history will find it worthwhile to take a detour to the castle with the Düben Heath Landscape Museum and the historic Bergschiffmühle. Since 1953, visitors have been able to gain a comprehensive picture of the town's history and the development of the Düben Heath. Particular emphasis is placed on the presentation of the cultural landscape of the Düben Heath and the relationship between people and the landscape. The oldest castle building still preserved today is the "Lug ins Land" watchtower. From here you can enjoy the view over the Mulde landscape and the castle garden. On the middle floor you can find out about the story of Hans Kohlhase. The museum is currently being redesigned and renovated, but the gates to the castle grounds and the Bergschiffmühle, which is located in the castle garden as a technical monument, are open to visitors.
With the spa park, Bad Düben has a green heart that invites you to relax. The park was created in 1846 as one of the first public parks. It has a restaurant, the spa house. With its fountains, lawn, lush rhododendrons and many details, the idyllic park is an ideal place to linger and a dream area for all SupaGolf players. The four-star superior HEIDE SPA Hotel & Resort is located in the spa park. Here, visitors are offered relaxation for body and soul with specially developed concepts. To the north of the park on the Schleifbach is the Obermühle, a water mill from the 15th century. The Museumsdorf Dübener Heide eV association has set up a center in the green mill courtyard with cabaret, culture, environmental education, school projects and regional marketing. After the former oil mill was renovated in accordance with the monument protection regulations, nine historical trades are now also given space to present old regional craftsmanship.
The "Red Bank" on the Mulde is a particular eye-catcher. The 15-meter-high steep bank takes its name from embankments made of leached alum earth. If you want to follow the legend of Hans Kohlhase, the Schnaditz district of Bad Düben is the right place for you. Here you will find the three-winged Schnaditz moated castle, which was once the seat of the von Zaschnitz family. From here you can walk to the church in Schnaditz, inside of which there are 13 restored epitaphs of the von Zaschnitz family. Over 100 years ago, there were more than twelve mills in Bad Düben. Today, five of these contemporary witnesses can still be admired. These technical monuments attract interested visitors every year on German Mill Day. During the season from April to October, you can learn interesting facts about the mills through mill tours, bread baking days and other cultural highlights.
Discover nature
A number of local and national hiking and cycling trails lead from the city into the neighboring Düben Heath or into the Mulde floodplains. On the Luther Trail Saxony, you can reach the next stop, Dreiheide, from Bad Düben on forest paths and village roads after 46 kilometers. The Luther Trail Saxony-Anhalt joins in the Hammermühle district and continues for 35 kilometers to Wittenberg.
A special experience are the hikes with the nature park guides through the moorland with the Heidemönch. The Mulde cycle path, which follows the course of the Vereinigte Mulde, is an ideal place to explore by bike.
Personalities associated with Bad Düben
The writer Christoph Hein spent his childhood in Bad Düben and is now an honorary citizen of the city. The three-time world ice climbing champion Ines Papert was born in Wittenberg in 1974 and also spent her childhood in Bad Düben.
Festivals full of tradition and joy
The town festival at the end of May, the North Saxon Harvest Festival in September, the Oktoberfest and the Christmas market are very popular in Bad Düben, as are events in the Obermühle. Lovers of church music can listen to the series of events "Fermate - Pause at the end of the month" on the last day of each month, which scores points with a varied musical program. Spa concerts take place from May to September.
Why wander far away…?
Diverse discoveries in nature and the Düben districts make your stay in this region varied. The NaturSportBad, which opened in 2019, offers water areas of different depths, paddling pools with a rocky landscape and designated lanes for swimmers. What's special about the pool: The water is treated biologically and physically, without the addition of chlorine. You can also spend the night in small barrel huts close to nature.
You don't even have to leave the spa town for an extraordinary nature experience, because as the "gateway to the Düben Heath" you can set off on discovery tours from here. The charming heath landscape with forests, fields, meadows, waters, moors and diverse native wildlife extends to Wittenberg, around 35 kilometers to the north. In the south and southeast, the Düben Heath borders the Elbe and extends as far as Eilenburg and Torgau. In the 75.000 hectare nature park, hikers, cyclists and nature lovers will find tranquil and partly untouched nature. The quality hiking trail Heide-Biber-Tour takes those interested on the trail of the local beaver. The tour runs between Bad Düben and Bad Schmiedeberg. In the nature park, a charcoal kiln and romantic inns also invite you to relax.
Important facts at one glance
The town of Bad Düben is located in the district of North Saxony. Around 8.000 people live in the four districts. The northernmost Saxon town is also a border town between the federal states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. The Vereinigte Mulde river flows through the town from southeast to northwest. Bad Düben is located at the intersection of federal highways 2, 107, 183 and 183a. A bus line 196 runs every hour from Leipzig main station to Bad Düben town center and the HEIDE SPA.