Burg Kriebstein (Castle)

Today we traveled to Kriebstein Castle, Saxony's most beautiful knight's castle. Now this was a treat! Here is some information from the flyer we obtained at the castle today.

The first documented reference can be dated back to the 14th century, when the Knight Dietrich of Beerwalde established the residential tower in 1384 which is 45 meters high. Apart from the extensive reconstructions of the first floor, the tower has remained almost unaltered up to the roof until today. The tower itself together with its furnishings presents an authentic record of the building and living style of the late Middle Ages.

The last owners were the family of Arnim who had been living there from 1825 until 1945, almost 120 years. The family of Arnim was expropriated in 1945 and Kriebstein Castle became state-owned. Since Januray 1st 1993, Kriebstein Castle has been owned by the land of Saxony. At the beginning of the 1990's, the renovation process started , facades and rooms were refurbished and total restoration process ended in April 2004.

3. The black Waldenburg tiled stove is from 1680 and is decorated with big shells.

8. The other green tiled stove was built in the 19th century.

2. The 2nd picture shows the saga of the faithful lady of Kriebstein. Margrave Friedrich der Streitbare seized the castle in 1415 from the knight Deitrich of Staupitz. After a period of time the ladies were permitted to leave the castle with the most precious thing they could carry on their backs. It was expected that the ladies would carry jewels and money, but the ladies carried their husbands out of the gate. The Margrave was overcome with emotion and saved the knight Staupitz's life.

7. The winged alterpiece with 5 people in it is especially rare. It was painted in 1520.

6. There was a treasure find in 1986. Books, silver and china were hidden in a chimney over 3 floors during WWII. Most of the objects were from the Steinort Castle in east Prussia. Its former owner Heinrich Duke of Lehndorff was actively involved in the attempt on Hitler in 1944 and was consequently imprisoned and killed. All the pieces of art and valuable items were transported to Kriebstein Castle.

1. The chapel is a compact square room and the paintings date back to 1410. The paintings were restored in 1994 and form one of the best exhibitions of late Middle Ages wall paintings in Germany today.

4. The castle is now a museum, restaurant and the church is used for small, quaint weddings. Today, there were actually 4 weddings and it was fun to see 2 beautiful brides. One of the brides was marrying a fireman. The groom's fellow fire firefighters dressed in their dress uniforms and filled their water hoses with air. The hoses were then bent to create a tunnel of arches that the bride and groom walked through. Very interesting. We had never seen that done before.

We have too many pictures to post all of them. It was a very exciting day to learn the history behind all the furnishings and treasures. We are going to try and go back on Wednesday for a private tour of the tower. With all the weddings today, it was difficult to see everything. Stay tuned for more later!

A sidenote: If you want to see the picture more clearly then click on the picture and it will go to almost full screen. :)