Altenburg Castle (Residenzschloss Altenburg)

Huge castle-palace in the town of Altenburg, former residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg. Houses a museum of regional history and a museum of playing cards.
















The first mention of a structure on the rock dates back to 976. It was originally an imperial fortification, a so-called Palatinate, a sort of hotel for the emperor. The emperors of the Holy Roman Empire stayed in such palaces when they traveled. About ten emperors and kings have visited the castle.

In the 12th century, one of the most important kings in German history, Frederick Barbarossa, held the Reichstag in the castle six times. This is the imperial assembly, the highest law-making body of the Holy Roman Empire. Under Barbarossa, the castle was substantially rebuilt.

At this time, a keeper's tower (Hausmannsturm) was built. In such towers, the keepers monitored the situation in the town and castle, promptly warning of fires or approaching enemies. The last keepers left their posts only in the 20th century.








Entrance to the tower is free, you can see the keeper's room and the beautiful views from the small windows.








In Germany, the castle is scandalous because of the kidnapping of Princes Ernst and Albrecht in July 1455. The knight Kunz von Kauffungen kidnapped the crown princes from the Saxon Wettin dynasty. The aim was to force Elector Frederick II Mole to compensate for the territorial and financial losses incurred by the knight during the Saxon fraternal war.

In the 17th century the castle became the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, and between 1706 and 1744 it was rebuilt into a representative palace complex. It is currently owned by the city.

Getting there: you can park near the castle entrance (50.987944, 12.441250), but we left the car a little further away (50.988889, 12.443861) and took a walk through the castle park. Not far from the park is the Bahnhof Altenburg train station.