The Sorbs are a Slavic minority who have lived in the Spreewald and surrounding Lusatia for over a thousand years. Their culture is most visible in the village of Lehde and in the towns and villages around Cottbus in the south. Bilingual signs (German and Lower Sorbian) appear throughout the region, and Easter is the time when the most distinctive local tradition comes alive: the decoration of Ostereier (Easter eggs) in elaborate geometric patterns.
Sorbian women spend weeks before Easter painting eggs with plant dyes and wax-resist techniques — the results are geometric masterpieces of folk art that bear no resemblance to the egg-dyeing kits available in supermarkets. Markets in Lübben, Lübbenau, and Cottbus sell them in the weeks before Easter. The Wendisches Haus in Lübben has a small permanent exhibition on Sorbian culture and traditions open year-round.