Euroregion Elbe/Labe

Tharandt Castle and Castle ruins

Ruin of medieval castle next to Tudor style castle with great view

The medieval Tharandt Castle is located on a mountain spur high above Tharandt. It is only preserved in ruins and offers above all a wonderful view of the city of Tharandt.

Castle ruins

The castle was built at the beginning of the 13th century at the order of Margrave Dietrich of Meissen to protect against the neighboring counts of Dohna. Already in 1224 it burned down during a war campaign, but was rebuilt in 1240-1256. At the end of the 14th century the castle was fortified in such a way that it was considered one of the strongest in the country. The counts of Dohna, who were very powerful in the border region (but also acted as robber barons), completely lost their importance in the course of the Dohna feud (1385-1402), so that Tharandt Castle also lost its defensive function. During the Hussite invasion in 1429, it was fought over and, because of its strength, served as a storehouse for documents and valuables of the Elector.

From 1476, Duchess Sidonie temporarily stayed at the castle. She was the daughter of the Bohemian King George of Podiebrad and was married to the Saxon Duke Albrecht to seal the Treaty of Cheb, which regulated the Saxon-Bohemian border that is still valid today. From 1500 she lived there permanently until her death in 1510. After that, the castle was no longer inhabited and was gradually dismantled. The neighboring mountain church was built in 1626-1629 on a part of the castle complex and using materials from the castle.

From the end of the 18th century the castle ruins came back into focus in the course of castle romanticism and were depicted by many romantic painters and draftsmen.

Castle

The Tharandt Castle next to the castle ruins was built in 1858-1861 as the studio of a sculptor. From 1866 it was rebuilt by a new owner into a romantic residential castle in Moorish-Oriental Tudor style. The present appearance is due to a fire in 1936. The castle was then used by the Tharandt Forestry School (now part of the TU Dresden) until 2000. Since 2002, the castle has been privately owned and is being renovated step by step. Inside, the work has been largely completed. From the outside, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Address

Heinrich-Cotta-Straße 19
01737 Tharandt

Opening hours

Castle ruins: 24/7

Castle: not accessible

Prices

admission free

Arrival

Tharandt train station directions_railway directions_bus with regular S-Bahn connections to Dresden is about 850 m away on foot.

From the bus stop "Tharandt, Dresdner Straße" directions_railway directions_bus it is only 400 m.

Parking is available below the church on the market square and at the intersection to the east, both about 200 m away.

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