Wildeck Castle
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Wildeck Castle is a former hunting lodge in Zschopau in Saxony . It stands on a rock spur in the immediate vicinity of Zschopau .
investment
The present structure is irregular three-sided, narrow wing of the castle surrounded the court with the dungeon "Dicker Heinrich" to Zschopau out. The stair tower standing at the angle of two wings is called "Slim Margaret". The courtyard is closed to the city with a wall. As part of the construction of a parking lot on the area of the palace square, this wall was torn down after 1990 and moved towards the keep as a modern wall. Unfortunately it was neglected to show the course of the old wall on the ground with colored paving stones.
history
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The origin of the castle (and thus the town of Zschopau) is a castle that served to secure the transition of the “Old Bohemian Steige” over the Zschopau. The exact date of foundation of the castle is not known, it is assumed that it was built during the castle building phase from 1125 to 1180. The city was first mentioned in a document in 1286, and the castle itself was first mentioned in 1299. Originally the castle probably only consisted of a defensive tower, which corresponds to today's "Dicken Heinrich", but at that time it was only 20 m high with an entrance to be defended by a man at a height of 14 meters. At the turn of the 13th to the 14th century are the lords of Erdmannsdorf , who apparently held the Zschopau castle.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the castle changed the (margravial-Meissnian) fiefdoms several times, called the Waldenburg and Albrecht Burggraf von Leisnig . Anarg von Waldenburg and Herr zu Wolkenstein ceded the castle to Elector Friedrich in 1456 .
Under Duke Moritz von Sachsen it was converted into a hunting lodge in Renaissance style from 1545 to 1547, three smaller towers were demolished and the building was raised by one floor. The "Fat Heinrich" received a two-part Renaissance hood. The south wing and parts of the west wing are preserved today from these modifications. The colorful coffered ceilings and wall paintings that were created in this context were not rediscovered until 1980 during construction work (blue and white room).
The castle served from 1506 to 1911 as the seat of a forest and game master's office (later the chief forestry office), one of the most famous land hunter masters is Cornelius von Rüxleben , who was Saxon chief forest and land hunter in Zschopau from 1554 to 1576 .
In 1608, Elector Christian II had a bear garden built at the palace, which existed until 1757. The Zschopau executioner was responsible for feeding and supervising the animals.
The palace complex was the only building in the city center that was not affected by the great fire in 1748.
Over the years there have been further modifications and additions, some of which have now been removed. In 1754 there was a fire in the west wing, when the destroyed second floor and the roof were rebuilt, the west wing was given a baroque mansard roof . In 1844 a fire destroyed the forest expedition and the office. As part of the repair work, the "fat Heinrich" was partially removed and given a conical roof. The wooden staircase of the “Slim Margaret”, which is twisted to the right, has been replaced by a stone staircase that is twisted to the left. Due to its use as a court seat (district court since 1821), a classicist extension was added in 1855 (courtroom on the east wing) and a prison was set up on the west wing. In 1933 the prison was overcrowded due to the imprisonment of 200 so-called “protective prisoners”. Since 1937, the castle has been illuminated with spotlights on special occasions.
Todays use
After 1945, Wildeck Castle was used as a residential building and the seat of various cultural institutions (library, music school, young technician and natural scientist station); Wildeck Castle has been a district culture house since 1974.
As part of the renovation work started in 1975, the keep was raised, given a new hood and a viewing platform (opening 1992).
The city took over the facility in 1994, and a development association has existed since 1997. The renovation work worth around six million euros was completed in 2009.
The castle currently houses various museums (printing museum, motorcycle museum, mint workshop), a public library and a wedding room. A baroque garden laid out around the palace in 2009 complements the complex.
literature
- Wildeck Castle. In: The middle Zschopau area (= values of our homeland . Volume 28). 1st edition. Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1977, p. 164f.
- Author collective: History of the city of Zschopau. Established until 1945. Zschopau 1989.
- Heinz Bauer: The Zschopau Castle. Problems of their dating. In: Erzgebirgische Heimatblätter 15 (1993) 5, pp. 6-9, ISSN 0232-6078
- Eberhard Hahn: Wildeck Castle in Zschopau then and now. In: Erzgebirgische Heimatblätter 26 (2004) 1, pp. 2–5, ISSN 0232-6078
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 44 '44.6 " N , 13 ° 4' 6.8" E