The Torhaus Dölitz is the structural remnants of an aristocratic residence, the Dölitz Castle in the village of Dölitz, which today belongs to Leipzig . Large parts of the Dölitz Castle and with it the gatehouse were built in the last third of the 17th century. The gatehouse contains a pewter figure museum whose collection, with around 100,000 pewter figures, is one of the three largest publicly accessible in the world.
The castle was acquired, renovated and rebuilt in 1636 by Georg Winckler (1582–1654), merchant in Leipzig and ancestor of the family. The gatehouse of the castle was built between 1670 and 1672 by Andreas von Winckler, a son of Georg Winckler.
During the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig , Dölitz Castle was a French headquarters and fiercely contested. Austrian troops tried several times to storm the facility, but were beaten back by the French until they retreated unhindered on the night of October 18-19, 1813. The gatehouse of the former Dölitz Castle is the last remaining building that played an important role in the course of the Battle of the Nations.
References:The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick.