Palace, forest and water

The village, designed in typical Sorb-form, the rundling, was first mentioned in the year 1496. King Wladislaus from Bohemia conveyed the village to Sebastian von Gersdorff's children in the year 1529. Following that the owner changes several times. In 1856 a great fire destroyed nearly the whole village. Houses were at that time mostly roofed with straw or reed.

Because the Sorbs in the Niederlausitz were able to still keep their ethnic characteristics 210 citizens from 300 were of Sorbian origin in 1880. In the centre of the village and village life was the knight's estate with palace, mews and annexes. Niemtsch was located in a wood and water rich environ even had a vineyard with vineyard lakes.

When in 1940 the ground opening of the open-cast pit, named after the village, started had this also profound repercussions for the village's environment. When in the year 1966 the coal mining stopped the abandoned open pit was flooded. Today Niemtsch is situated at the banks of the Senftenberg Lake. with the improvement of the water quality a habitat for different fish species developed in the lake. the village has a small fishing enterprise.

Pike-perch, pike, catfish, eel are apart from a trout farm of prior importance for husbandry. A characteristic of the lake is the little moraine. Fishing is done with bow nets and gillnets. A small shop offers goods from own production only.

image author: M.Vogt

Forest meadow for stately animals

Directly at the Senftenberg Lake is the nature resort 'Niemtscher Park'.
It is the former palace park with old deciduous trees with a set-up nature trail. The former estate park was used as recreational place for the owners and probably as 'wood pasture' for stately animals. The ca. 17 ha large park is a small remnant of dense and species-rich unspoiled floodplain forests, which once ran along the Schwarze Elster. The goal is to restore the former character of a floodplain forest. In spring the forest floor is covered with a carpet of anemones and glows in its white colour. The park offers a habitat for numerous plants and animals and is especially ideal for birds.
The beauties of nature can be explored and experienced by bicycle via the developed regional cycle-path-net. For the village's 500-year celebration a private exhibition was opened. Exhibited are mining equipment, decorated briquettes from the time since 1880, replica of a brown coal pit on a scale of  1:30 as well as photos and maps, which document the development of open-cast mining.
A popular destination in the village is also the public house 'Niemtscher Mühle', which is over 100 years old.