Dessau-Roßlau has more than 100 sports clubs, e.g. for ball sports like football, basketball and tennis, for track and field sports, gymnastics, martial arts, swimming, dancing and also outdoor sports like hiking, canoeing and cycling. You can go swimming in Dessau-Roßlau in  the Sportbad Dessau (inside swimming pool) and from May to September in seven outdoor swimming pools and lakes. A list of all clubs, sports facilities and swimming pools is given on the homepage of the Referat Sportförderung (Sports Promotion Department). To participate in the sports activities offered, it is mostly necessary to join the associations. A membership fee has to be paid. Its amount is fixed by each club separately.

In addition to the activities in sports clubs and in public sports facilities, there are also private providers like fitness and yoga studios. The statutory health insurance companies sometimes offer allowances for health-promoting courses. Ask you health insurance company for its regarding offers. Sports activities for their visitors are also offered by Soziokulturelle Zentren (socio-cultural centres) and Kinder- und Jugendeinrichtungen (children and youth facilities).

The buildings of the world-famous art, design and architecture college Bauhaus are located in Dessau-Roßlau. The The buildings of the world-famous art, design and architecture college Bauhaus are located in Dessau-Roßlau. The Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau  (Bauhaus Dessau Foundation) presents changing exhibitions about the design and architecture issues. It offers lectures and design workshops for children and adults. In the Stadtbibliothek Dessau (Anhalt State Library Dessau), children and adults can choose from more than 60,000 books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and games, and borrow them for 1 to 4 weeks (annual fee 10 €, reduced 5 €). Reading hours and lectures for all age groups are also regularly held in the library.

In the Anhaltische Theater (Anhalt Theatre), performances for adults and children in the fields of music theatre, concert, drama, ballet and puppet theatre are shown. When you or your children are interested in performing by yourselves, you can contact the Department Theaterpädagogik (Theatre Pedagogy) of the Anhalt Theatre. In the Musikschule „Kurt Weil“ (music school) you and your children can learn to sing or play an instrument. Two cinemas, the UCI Kinowelt and the Kiez Kino offer a wide range of movies.

The family-friendly Museum für Naturkunde und Vorgeschichte (Museum of Natural Sciences and Prehistory) presents exhibitions and collections about the History of the Earth, Ecology and Men and Environment. In the Museum für Stadtgeschichte Dessau (Museum of Local History), you can learn all about the 800 years of the city's history and its region. The Anhaltische Gemäldegalerie Dessau (Anhalt Painting 50 Gallery) exhibits paintings, drawings and printed graphs. Other museums in Dessau-Roßlau we have listed here for you.

The Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Kingdom amidst the Middle Elbe Biosphere Reserve provides excellent opportunities for excursions, walking and cycling. Further information is given by the Kulturstiftung Dessau-Wörlitz (Dessau-Wörlitz Cultural Foundation). The Tierpark Dessau (Dessau Zoo) with its about 800 animals in a beautiful landscape is also a famous leisure destination.

At two locations in Dessau-Roßlau, you have the opportunity to grow fruit and vegetable plants, even when do not have your own garden or balcony. In the Urbanen Farm Dessau  (Urban Farm), the focus is on the local supply and self-supply with healthy food. Patches are prepared on fallow areas, where fruit and vegetables can be planted and harvested by you. Horticulture is also possible in the Integrationsgarten „Garten der Sinne“ (Integration Garden "Garden of the Senses). You can also learn how to produce honey. If interested, you may also maintain a patch and get into communication with others.

A central meeting point in Dessau-Roßlau is the A central meeting point in Dessau-Roßlau is the Stadtpark (city park) in the city centre. Situated in the immediate near of the road Kavalierstraße and the new Bauhaus Museum, the city park offers a wide range of leisure activities. Children can play on the large playground, and a basketball court invites to play. Sports equipment can be freely used at several areas of the park. The city park is a recreation venue for all generations. Many events, some of them free of charge, are held there in the summer months.

Spiel- und Bolzplätze (playgrounds and football grounds) for children and adolescents are distributed all over the city, which can be freely used by all visitors. 

Several cultural centres are located in Dessau-Roßlau, offering a wide range of leisure activities for all age groups. In the Several cultural centres are located in Dessau-Roßlau, offering a wide range of leisure activities for all age groups. In the Mehrgenerationenhaus – Bürger-, Bildungs- und Freizeitzentrum (Multi-Generation House, Citizens', Education and Leisure Centre) you find the Volkshochschule (Adults Education Centre), a branch of the music school and a meeting point for everybody. Inter alia, it offers sports courses, cooking events, first language orientation, meeting opportunities and summer camps for adolescents.

The Multikulturelle Zentrum (Multi-Cultural Centre) is a meeting point for people of different origin and offers numerous projects for intercultural education and anti-discrimination. In the youth, culture and senior leisure Center Villa Krötenhof are dancing and sports courses, painting and handicraft courses, music groups and traffic instruction courses. The multi-generation house Ölmühle Roßlau is a meeting venue for everybody, for painting, pottery and handicraft courses, a dancing circle, meditation, a children and youth club and specific offers for women, single parents and handicapped people. You can find a meeting venue for all women with changing events, sports courses, a choir, a handicraft group, walking and dancing for women in the Sozial-kulturellen Frauenzentrum (Socio-Cultural Centre for Women). The Die Brücke (Integration House The Bridge) is a meeting point for self-support groups and is open to people of all age groups for talks, game-playing afternoons and parties. Several Seniorenbegegnungsstätten (meeting points for elderly people) offer specific cultural events, singing and coffee afternoons, sports groups, dancing events, travelling and assistance in everyday life for elderly people.

In the Kinder- und Jugendfreizeiteinrichtungen (children and youth leisure centres), children, adolescents and young adults at the age of 7 to 27 can find inspiring meeting and experience spaces and can participate in numerous leisu 52 re activities. Usually these facilities are opened in the afternoon, and some of them all day during school holidays. Visit is free. The facilities are attended by socio-pedagogical professionals. Children and adolescents can contact them regarding all their questions and problems. The facilities are meeting points open to everyone. There the children and adolescents can play, talk to each other, relax and utilize such offers like football kickers, darts, table tennis, or billiard. Changing activities like joint cooling, film presentations, excursions or parties are also offered.

In addition to the children and youth leisure centres, free mobile Angebote (mobile leisure facilities) are also offered for children and adolescents. The 'Spielmobil', for example, is a mobile bus for children from the age of 6. It is on tour all the year and allows children to enjoy playing with the playing equipment provided. The Spielmobil stops at regular locations in the city area. The different locations are stated in the Amtsblatt (Official Gazette) of the City. Another leisure activity offered in the children and youth Circus „raxli-faxli" for children from the age of 8. There, children learn how to conjure, to juggle and to make some acrobatic exercises.

When children and adolescents want to become active themselves and realize their own ideas, they can submit a project idea to the Jugendfonds of the Partnerschaft für Demokratie. The Kinder- und Jugendbeauftragte (children and youth representative) of the city of Dessau-Roßlau is the contact for children and young people and tries to implement their interests.

Should problems occur in the quarters, the adolescents can contact the Streetworker of the city for advice. They are on their way in all city quarters and listen to the problems of the adolescents or try to mediate, in the case of quarrels at the meeting places of the young people.

Almost every second German is a member in an association. Most of them are active in sports or engaged in the church. But also the membership in the "Voluntary Fire Brigade" or sports club is part of the everyday life of a large number of citizens. An association is a voluntary alliance of like-minded people, following a common aim, for example to be active in sports in their leisure time.Almost every second German is a member in an association. Most of them are active in sports or engaged in the church. But also the membership in the "Voluntary Fire Brigade" or sports club is part of the everyday life of a large number of citizens. An association is a voluntary alliance of like-minded people, following a common aim, for example to be active in sports in their leisure time.

When you are interested in joining an association, please inform yourselves about the conditions in advance. Usually associations request for the payment of a membership fee and to enter in a contract with the association. When you are granted benefits from the Sozial- und Wohnungsamt (Social services and housing office) or the Jobcenter, you may also apply for allowances out of the „Bildungs- und Teilhabepaket" (Education Participation Package).

Many people in Germany hold a honorary office, e.g. they work voluntarily and without remuneration in an association or an institution. Many of them are children and adolescents. In honor of volunteers, there is Ehrenamtskarte (the volunteer Card) of the city of Dessau-Roßlau. With this, the owners receive discounts from various partners

Volunteers make an important contribution to society, and at the same time they get an insight in new spheres of work. They get to know new people and improve their command of the German language. Persons rendering a honorary service are active, for example in a children or youth facility, a senior citizens' home, a museum or a sports club. When you are interested in holding a honorary office you can contact the Engagierte Stadt Dessau-Roßlau or the volunteer agency "Rat und Tat." They will support you in finding a suitable position and implementing ideas and information.

When you want to hold a honorary office for a longer time, the Bundesfreiwilligendienst (Federal Volunteers Service) would be a good option. Condition for the participation is that you hold a residence permit that gives you Bundesamts für Familie und zivilgesellschaftliche Aufgaben (Federal Office for Family and Civil Society Tasks). The Federal Volunteers Service takes usually 12 months, and is a full-time activity. Volunteers who are 27 or older can also render part-time service of at least 20.5 hours per week. During your volunteer service, you can get some pocket money. A qualified certificate will be issued for you at the end of your service.