Albrechtsburg Castle

Meißen, Germany

The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic castle that dominates the town centre of Meissen. It stands on a hill above the river Elbe, adjacent to the Meissen Cathedral.

By 929 King Henry I of Germany had finally subdued the Slavic Glomacze tribe and built a fortress within their settlement area, situated on a rock high above the Elbe river. This castle, called Misnia after a nearby creek, became the nucleus of the town and from 965 the residence of the Margraves of Meissen, who in 1423 acquired the Electorate of Saxony.

From 1464 Elector Ernest of Saxony ruled jointly with his younger brother Albert the Bold and both had the present-day castle erected from 1471 on. The masterpiece of court builder Arnold of Westphalia, it was constructed solely as a residence, not as a military fortress, the first German castle built for such a purpose. When the brothers divided the Wettin lands by the 1485 Treaty of Leipzig, the castle of Meissen fell to Albert. Though Albert's son Duke George the Bearded resided at the Albrechtsburg, it was soon superseded by Dresden Castle as the new seat of the Wettin Albertinian line.

In 1710 King Augustus II the Strong established the Königlich-Polnische und Kurfürstlich-Sächsische Porzellan-Manufaktur, which was the first European hard-paste porcelain manufacture, at the castle under the supervision of Johann Friedrich Böttger. Meissen porcelain was produced at the Albrechtsburg until manufacturing moved to its present location in 1863.

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Address

Domplatz 13, Meißen, Germany
See all sites in Meißen

Details

Founded: 10th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Germany
Historical period: Ottonian Dynasty (Germany)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org
www.albrechtsburg-meissen.de

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Meissen Cathedral (0 km)


Dresden Cathedral (22,4 km)
Frauenkirche (22,8 km)
Dresden Castle (22,4 km)
Zwinger Palace (22,2 km)
Semperoper (22,2 km)
Albertinum (22,9 km)
Pillnitz Castle (33 km)
Moritzburg Castle (14,5 km)
Dresden City Museum (23 km)

User Reviews

Vanitha Thangavelu (2 months ago)
We visit this place in first week of may. Very nice place. Worth to visit this place. Castle museum and architecture is good. But some work was going on during visit and I assume it will be stunning after all work. Also stairs available to climb up with beautiful city view.There are lots of restaurants and cafe around this place.
木本真澄 (3 months ago)
It is the oldest castle in Germany, which has nice view and interesting stories. I recommend going to Meisen factory with combined ticket.
Pedro Eguiguren (3 months ago)
Beautiful place! Get restaurant nearby with the best view from the city.
Mara Elena (3 months ago)
Wonderful place to go on a day trip! Very historical and just gorgeous. The restaurants and Cafe's are so beautiful and the view is just astonishing
Tatyana Golovina (4 months ago)
The castle is closed but views from it are stunning.
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Steinvikholm Castle

Steinvikholm Castle is an island fortress built between 1525 to 1532 by Norway's last Catholic archbishop, Olav Engelbrektsson. Steinvikholm castle became the most powerful fortification by the time it was built, and it is the largest construction raised in the Norwegian Middle Ages.

The castle occupies about half of the land on the rocky island. The absence of a spring meant that fresh water had to be brought from the mainland. A wooden bridge served as the only way to the island other than boat. Although the castle design was common across Europe in 1525, its medieval design was becoming obsolete because of the improved siege firepower offered by gunpowder and cannons.

The castle was constructed after Olav Engelbrektsson returned from a meeting with the Pope in Rome, presumably in anticipation of impending military-religious conflict. As Archbishop Engelbrektsson's resistance to the encroachment of Danish rule escalated, first with Frederick I of Denmark and his successor Christian III of Denmark, Steinvikholm Castle and Nidarholm Abbey became the Catholic Church's military strongholds in Norway. In April 1537, the Danish-Norwegian Reformation succeeded in driving the archbishop from the castle into exile in Lier in the Netherlands (now in Belgium), where he died on 7 February 1538. At the castle the archbishop left behind St. Olav's shrine and other treasures from Nidaros Cathedral (Trondheim). The original coffin containing St. Olav's body remained at Steinvikholm until it was returned to Nidaros Cathedral in 1564. Since 1568 St. Olav's grave in Nidaros has been unknown.

From the 17th to 19th century, the island was used as a quarry and some of its masonry was sold and removed from the site. This activity was condoned by the Danish-Norwegian authorities as a way of eliminating a monument to the opposition of the Danish–Norwegian Union.

Steinvikholm fort is owned and operated today by The society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments. The island has been the site of the midnight opera which details the life and struggles of the archbishop. The opera is held in August annually. The opera is organized by Steinvikholm Musikkteater since the beginning in 1993.

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