Castles in Saxony

Kuckuckstein Castle

Kuckuckstein Castle in Liebstadt in Saxony is located on a rocky outcrop above the Seidewitz river valley at a very favorable location for controlling the trade route from the Elbe valley via the Eastern Ore Mountains to Bohemia. The castle was first mentioned in 1410 but it was probably built in the second half of the 13th century. It was destroyed during the Dohna feud (dispute between the burgraves of Dohna and the Me ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Liebstadt, Germany

Rauenstein Castle

Rauenstein Castle guarded the crossing over the River Flöha along the road from Freiberg to Annaberg. The castle is first mentioned in 1323, although from archaeological investigations it is postulated that it had been built by around 1200. The first lords of Rauenstein were the Schellenbergers. After several changes of ruler, the castle went into the possession of the Electorate of Saxony in 1567. The Amt of Ra ...
Founded: c. 1200 | Location: Pockau-Lengefeld, Germany

Kohren Castle

Kohren Castle, also known as Chorun or Sahlis, is the ruin of an imposing hill castle in the town of Kohren-Sahlis in Leipzig county in Saxony. The origin of the town Kohren can be traced back to the time of the Sorbian settlement in the Early Middle Ages. Emperor Otto II gifted the forest between the rivers Saale and Mulde to the Bishop of Merseburg in year 974. The castle was owned by Kohren family ...
Founded: 1240 | Location: Gnandstein, Germany

Hainewalde Castle

The  original Hainewalde water castle, built under rule of the family von Nositz, was located north of the terraces of the new castle. The only remain of the old water castle, which was demolished in 1780, is the gate lodge with his west-side Renaissance-portal. Schloss (New Castle) was constructed in 1750–1753, along with its Baroque gardens, under the rule of the Kanitz-Kyaw family. It was renovated in 1883, the ...
Founded: 1750-1753 | Location: Hainewalde, Germany

Althörnitz Castle

Althörnitz Castle was built i by Christian von Hartig in 1651-1654. The square form castle has two round two octagonal towers. Today it is a hotel.
Founded: 1651-1654 | Location: Hörnitz, Germany

Strehla Castle

The hill fort on the site of current Strehla castle was built to protect a river crossing near a ford after 928 AD. It was burned down in 1002 in a conflict between the German King Heinrich II and the Polish Duke Bolesław I Chrobry. In 1384 the castle came as a fief to the Lords von Pflugk, who came from Bohemia, and remained in the possession of the Pflugk family until 1945. After the expropriation of the Pflugk family, ...
Founded: 1335 | Location: Strehla, Germany

Reinsberg Castle

The founder and builder of the Reinsberg Castle is not known with certainty. However, the establishment of castle and village Reinsberg is probably due to a German nobleman named Reinhardt who had the castle built in order to protect an agricultural settlement. Already in 1197, the castle is recorded as the seat of a noble family when a member of the Reinsberg (Regensberg) family appears as a witness in a document. Their ...
Founded: 12th century | Location: Reinsberg, Germany

Hoyerswerda Castle

The Hoyerswerda castle is located on a hill in the center of old town. The original castle from the 13th century was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt. Under Seyfried von Promnitz a Renaissance castle was erected from it at the end of the 16th century. Baroque elements were added in the first half of the 18th century. Since the 1950s, the castle has hosted a city museum.
Founded: 16th century | Location: Hoyerswerda, Germany

Döbschütz Castle

Döbschütz Castle was built on the right bank of the Schwarzen Schöps was probably built in the 10th-12th centuries. Its existence can be proven for the 10th century, where drawings on the house wall are the basis, and an old kitchen from around 1000 was uncovered in the cellar. In 1874 part of the castle burned down, which was followed by extensive renovations. The castle was sold in 2001 to the Rößler family, who c ...
Founded: 10th century AD | Location: Döbschütz, Germany

Auerbach Castle

Auerbach Castle was built in the 12th century to protect the new settlers from Franconia and Thüringen. The castle had a moat and drawbridge. In the 1757 the castle was destroyed by fire. In 1849 it was reconstructed and altered. Today it hosts a restaurant
Founded: 12th century | Location: Auerbach, Vogtland, Germany

Oberau Castle

In 1274, a moated defense tower was built on the site of today"s Oberau castle. The specialty of this residential tower is the internal stairs and the external living rooms. In 1550, Ernst von Miltitz had an impressive, elongated new building built in the Renaissance style with accentuated gable tops next to the residential tower. In 1594 the building was thoroughly redesigned to create a renaissance castle. In the ...
Founded: 1274 | Location: Niederau, Germany

Bärenstein Castle

Bärenstein Castle today is emerged from a medieval hilltop castle and forms an irregular system in the shape of angled hook. The oldest part of the building is the south wing with a round tower from the 14th century. In 1489 this was increased and has had a flat conical roof since the 16th century . Another round tower connects the two castle wings. On the east wing there are two round arch portals in the Renaissance sty ...
Founded: 14th century | Location: Bärenstein, Germany

Schnaditz Castle

Schnaditz Castle was probably built around 1237 into a marshland area. The longest time (1463–1655) the family members of the von Zaschnitz lived there, also related to the Steuben family through marriage. Tietzen von Zaschnitz undertook numerous renovations and new buildings at the castle in the mid-15th century.. Immediately after the purchase in 1655, Ludwig von Wuthenau carried out extensive construction work o ...
Founded: c. 1237 | Location: Bad Düben, Germany

Weißenborn Castle

Weißenborn Castle was first mentioned in a document in 1213 together with the village of the same name. Weißenborn was given to the Freiberg family von Hartitzsch as a fief in 1365, and it remained in their possession until 1802. The castle was built probably in the 14th century. Weissenborn was also not spared from wars, looting and the plague. In 1802, Alexander von Hartitzsch sold the castle and manor to Ch ...
Founded: 13th century | Location: Weißenborn, Saxony, Germany

Isenburg Castle Ruins

Isenburg is a ruined castle located high above the valley of the Zwickauer Mulde. Archaeological finds indicate that this site already existed in the 12th century. Little is known about the history of spur castle and its violent destruction. There are no verified, documented references. Oral traditions - the first account dates to 1738 - called the Isenburg a 'robber castle,' the 'Old Castle' and ...
Founded: 12th century | Location: Hartenstein, Germany

Paßklausenturm

The 14m high Paßklausenturm is the surviving part of a moated castle in Tannenberg. It was probably built by Fredrik Barbarossa around 1162. The castle was destroyed in Hussite Wars. 
Founded: 12th century | Location: Tannenberg, Germany

Ruhethal Castle

Ruhethal Castle was built in 1150 in the Döllnitztal including the chapel and was the former bishopric of the Meißen diocese. At the place where the castle stands today, there used to be a moated castle. Meißner bishops carried out further modifications in 1261 and 1341. The mighty 40-meter-high tower, which was built under Bishop Nicholas I in 1380, is characteristic of the view of Ruhetal Castle . Around 1590 the ca ...
Founded: 1150 | Location: Mügeln, Germany

Liebau Castle

The Burg Liebau is the ruin of a spur castle on a flat rock spur on the right flank of the Elster. The castle was first mentioned in a document in 1327. In the 14th century exchanged Plauen Vogt Heinrich the Elder including the castle with the Wettiners and 1441 the castle was owned by the Dölau, of which the castle from 1500 to 1550 graduated like in Renaissance style was rebuilt. In 1640 the castle was sacked by Swedi ...
Founded: 14th century | Location: Pöhl, Germany

Milkel Castle

Milkel castle, surrounded by water on four sides, was founded probably in 1302. In 1719-20 the north tower was built by the Ponickau family and the castle got its current apperance. Today, after 20 years of restoration work, the castle, the cavalier houses, the park and burial places of the previous owners are in a good condition.
Founded: 1302 | Location: Milkel, Germany

Siebeneichen Castle

The Siebeneichen Castle is located on the southern slope of the Elbe opposite the Spaar Mountains upstream of Meißner"s old town in the Siebeneichen district.  The estate was first mentioned in 1220. A noble family named themselves after seven oaks in the 12th century. Between around 1553 and 1555, the electoral councilor and court marshal Ernst von Miltitz built a three-storey renaissance palace with two corn ...
Founded: 1553-1555 | Location: Meißen, Germany

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Monte d'Accoddi

Monte d"Accoddi is a Neolithic archaeological site in northern Sardinia, located in the territory of Sassari. The site consists of a massive raised stone platform thought to have been an altar. It was constructed by the Ozieri culture or earlier, with the oldest parts dated to around 4,000–3,650 BC.

The site was discovered in 1954 in a field owned by the Segni family. No chambers or entrances to the mound have been found, leading to the presumption it was an altar, a temple or a step pyramid. It may have also served an observational function, as its square plan is coordinated with the cardinal points of the compass.

The initial Ozieri structure was abandoned or destroyed around 3000 BC, with traces of fire found in the archeological evidence. Around 2800 BC the remains of the original structure were completely covered with a layered mixture of earth and stone, and large blocks of limestone were then applied to establish a second platform, truncated by a step pyramid (36 m × 29 m, about 10 m in height), accessible by means of a second ramp, 42 m long, built over the older one. This second temple resembles contemporary Mesopotamian ziggurats, and is attributed to the Abealzu-Filigosa culture.

Archeological excavations from the chalcolithic Abealzu-Filigosa layers indicate the Monte d"Accoddi was used for animal sacrifice, with the remains of sheep, cattle, and swine recovered in near equal proportions. It is among the earliest known sacrificial sites in Western Europe.

The site appears to have been abandoned again around 1800 BC, at the onset of the Nuragic age.

The monument was partially reconstructed during the 1980s. It is open to the public and accessible by the old route of SS131 highway, near the hamlet of Ottava. It is 14,9 km from Sassari and 45 km from Alghero. There is no public transportation to the site. The opening times vary throughout the year.