Residence Castle

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The Altenburg residential palace is quite impressive when you stand in front of it, isn't it?

The castle had been a central place of rule in Thuringia since the 10th century. Dresden or Chemnitz cannot keep up with that. 🙂

Founded by the Slavs, the medieval emperors made Altenburg one of their most important places to stay. Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa was in his Altenburg imperial palace no less than seven times in the 12th century. (By the way, Barbarossa will meet you again at the Red Spires with a funny story.)

At that time Altenburg was one of the capitals of the empire: Located on the central medieval trade route through Europe, the Via Imperii, and with an imperial palace, an important base for the traveling emperor – that was quite something! Again and again, great politics took place in the castle: Barbarossa enfeoffed Count Palatine Otto V von Wittelsbach in 1180 with the Duchy of Bavaria.

The Wettin electors later moved into the palace. The line of the Ernestines ruled Thuringia. They divided it up among themselves again and again and bequeathed their domains to one another. Altenburg was the easternmost pillar of the Ernestine dominion. In 1918 the time of the dynasties also ended in Altenburg. In 1943 the castle finally became the property of the city. Have a look around!

Discover magnificent halls, a tower with a wonderful view or the impressive castle church. The baroque “Trostorgel”, which Johann Sebastian Bach played on, is also located here. Its sound is widely praised even today. There are also great exhibitions on a wide variety of topics, there is sure to be something for you!

Oh, and if you are in Altenburg because of Skat: Here in the castle the history of this card game, which is popular all over the world and which, incidentally, was invented in Altenburg, is shown. A great show! And in the interactive KartenMACHERwerkstatt you can design and print your very own individual playing card. Information and booking options can be found on the website.

What to expect?

Probably the most famous collection is that of the Castle and Playing Cards Museum. But the castle itself has significant holdings of precious East Asian and European porcelain, militaria, an originally preserved baroque antiques cabinet, an Art Nouveau library made entirely of wood and sculptures from the Middle Ages to the 19th century. The city history collection is also housed in the castle; here you can find evidence of everyday, technological, cultural and social history (unfortunately not to be seen at the moment because the permanent exhibition is currently being redesigned / restructured). You can find out more here.

So that you can also explore all the beautiful nooks and crannies of the castle, we have created a map with the most interesting places for you.

The year 2014 was under the theme „Reformation and politics“ and the City of Altenburg dedicated an exhibition to the life and work of Georg Spalatin. That was the first time an exhibition ever solely focused on the close friend of Martin Luther, who says of himself that without him the Reformation would not have happened the way it did. In this video Elector Frederick III. explain the castle and its meaning for the people of Altenburg.

Further Information

• Who were the Wettins?
• The kidnapping of the Altenburg Princes