Archäologiepark Gävernitz

Archäologiepark Gävernitz is an open-air site in Priestewitz, Germany, that presents two reconstructed burial mounds from the Late Bronze Age. The larger of the two mounds measures around 14 meters (46 feet) in diameter and was rebuilt based on archaeological findings to show the original form and structure of such burial sites.

The mounds came to light in 1928 when a motor plow struck ancient remains during fieldwork and prompted archaeologists to investigate. By 1930, the location had become the first open-air archaeology museum in Saxony, drawing many visitors during the early excavation phase.

The site takes its name from the village of Gävernitz and demonstrates how communities more than 3,000 years ago honored their dead. Visitors can walk around the reconstructed mounds and understand the role these burial sites played for groups who laid their leaders or important members to rest here.

The park reopened in June 2022 after renewal work and now offers information panels that make the visit easier to follow. The site lies in a rural setting and can be explored comfortably on foot, though sturdy shoes are helpful in wet weather.

The artifacts recovered from the mounds suggest that members of the Lusatian culture were buried here, a group that shaped large parts of Central Europe. Their burial customs and pottery appear at many sites across the region, but few places make the graves as accessible to visitors as this park does.