Association for the preservation and promotion of the Spreewald village Lehde e.V.

Our association was founded on 26.08.1992 by committed residents of the village. In March 2024, the association had 120 members. The non-profit idea behind our association is to maintain and preserve the unique Spreewald landscape around our village of Lehde. We are also committed to preserving the character of rural villages with their distinctive natural spaces and traditional ways of building and living. At the same time, the promotion of cultural traditions is very important to us.

The main tasks for the preservation of the Spreewald cultural landscape are already laid down in the statutes of the association. This requires a brief review to help you understand our main tasks. A large part of the Spreewald was already shaped more than 200 years ago by the manual excavation of additional ditches and the simultaneous filling of so-called “Horst fields”. This is an essential part of the landscape, especially around Lehde and in the direction of Wotschofska. This is why we are making efforts to maintain and cultivate areas that are no longer used. This also involves supporting small-scale, traditional land management under the special conditions of the inner Spreewald.

At the beginning of the 1990s, when almost all agriculture was lost in one sweep and difficult bureaucratic tasks had to be dealt with regarding the use of barges, the generation that we now affectionately call “the old people” had the idea of doing something to counteract the changes in the Spreewald at that time. Today, three decades later, we as a village community are visible everywhere. The village community is known for its commitment to preserving the cultural landscape in the area, just as the marching band and the volunteer fire department are known for their outstanding youth work.

Our work is mainly financed by donations and the proceeds from our annual village festival. It is now a “new” tradition that we celebrate this festival on the last weekend in September with great visitor interest and many long-standing fans. 2024 was the 30th time. At the annual Lehdefest, “pumpkin carts” were raced, “barges were calibrated” and bathtubs were raced. The village festival has become an integral part of our annual schedule in the village. The Spreewald is not only known for its rustic nature and unique waterways, but also for its vibrant culture and the people who bring it all to life.

Ultimately, the association not only organizes joint events and work assignments, but has also set itself the task of promoting landscape conservation and thus also agriculture. In particular, we want to support part-time farming, but also all others that give our village its unmistakable character. To this end, the “Lehd’schen” are supported in an annually updated funding guideline (depending on the income situation from donations and village festivals). The aim is to help preserve the village character and maintain the cultural landscape of the Spreewald.

Support is provided with appropriate compensation for expenses, among other things:

• the construction of traditional barns
• the meadow mowing
• the keeping of large and small livestock
• Vegetable fields (so-called “Horst fields”), provided no other support is available
• the purchase of wooden barges

From the very beginning, all of the active board members of our support association have been aware that successful work for Lehde cannot stop at the boundaries of the Spreewald village. The greatest task of all support concepts is to ensure sustainability in the sense of permanence. In order to support cultural and landscape conservation, a reliable perspective must be offered to all those involved. The association is convinced that without small-scale agriculture as landscape conservation, the cultural landscape of the Spreewald and the attractiveness of the tourist region would be lost. This is another reason why the association is seeking contact with tourism service providers.

Our main goal is to be a relaxing vacation resort, but at the same time not to become a “pure vacation village”. As an attentive guest, you will always recognize the real Lehd’schen. As a development association, we therefore try to be there as initiators and supporters for all committed residents and fellow campaigners of our “lively village”.