The Stichelsdorf Estate is a place of open children's and youth work for the Francke Foundations and offers city children and interested parties from young to old a special open space for environmental education, experiential education and animal-assisted therapy.
Through our environmental education, we want to show how humans and nature, as well as humans themselves, can live in harmony.
Children engage intensively with this interaction in regular activities. They tend to the grounds, the garden and the animals, harvest and process food, cook, research, reflect and discuss together. In this way, they experience sustainability as an active process and are directly involved in the development of the estate. The aim is to raise awareness of sustainable behaviour, especially among children.
Workshops, Family Farm Days, a gardening club and open garden days also appeal to young people and adults.
regional, seasonal and organic farming and nutrition, fair trade, global nutrition and climate
clean drinking water, wastewater, aquatic life
Discussing possible solutions and testing them out using models
Equal treatment, inclusion, conflict resolution, understanding democracy and education
Since 2026, the Stichelsdorf Estate has been undergoing ecological enhancement and expansion as a learning centre for sustainable development.
The project »Verbund-KoMoNa: Oasis of Sustainability at the Stiftsgut Stichelsdorf« is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Protection, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) as part of the funding programme »Municipal Model Projects for the Implementation of Ecological Sustainability Goals in Regions Undergoing Structural Change« (KoMoNa). Zukunft – Umwelt – Gesellschaft (ZUG) is managing the funding programme on behalf of the ministry as the project sponsor.
The aim is to open up new perspectives for sustainable development in the region. The basis for this is a holistic educational concept that is implemented in extracurricular formats.
Since autumn 2023, the Halle Children's Farm, run by GartenWerkStadt Halle e. V., has been a cooperation partner of the Francke Foundations and enriches the Stiftsgut with additional environmental education programmes. Rabbits, chickens, sheep, cats, pigs and, for appropriate events, a dog have moved in with it. A wide variety of vegetables are grown in the farm garden, and fruit trees, berry bushes, herbs and wildflower areas are tended.
Other cooperation partners at the Stiftsgut are the Scholz ostrich farm and vegetable farmer René Zimmermann (Circle Superlokales Gemüse).
The Krokoseum and the TIQ youth club regularly visit the Stiftsgut as part of their open children's and youth work. A fixed highlight of the year are the family farm days organised by the family centre with great attention to detail.
From being an economic asset of the Francke Foundations in the 18th century to turbulent times of war, loss and retransfer, to its revival as an ecological learning and cultural centre for children, families and school classes, the Stichelsdorf estate tells a story that is as eventful as it is inspiring and well worth discovering.
Structures and landscapes are being created on the estate that will support educational work in the long term. The former cowshed is being renovated in the most environmentally friendly way possible to create an educational centre with a teaching kitchen, and the former smithy is being converted into a workshop. Following the demolition of a barn and a warehouse, these areas will be ecologically upgraded. A former slurry pit is being converted into a rainwater storage facility and at the same time designed as a pond biotope with native plants. Further natural areas with meadow plants, shrubs and trees are being created, the small forest is being sustainably maintained, the garden is being carefully cultivated and the social farm animals are being integrated into the natural cycles.
Our events & offers
HOW TO GET THERE
If you are travelling by car, take the B100 towards Peißen. Then follow the signs to Stichelsdorf. Parking spaces are limited.
By bike, you can reach the Estate via the cycle path through Dautzsch.
Take the S9 from Halle (Saale) main station to Peißen (1 stop). From there, it is approx. 1 km on foot.
