The town Colditz consists of Colditz proper and the Ortsteile (divisions) Bockwitz, Collmen, Commichau, Erlbach, Erlln, Hausdorf, Hohnbach, Kaltenborn, Koltzschen, Lastau, Leisenau, Maaschwitz, Meuselwitz, Möseln, Podelwitz, Raschütz, Schönbach, Sermuth, Skoplau, Tanndorf, Terpitzsch, Zollwitz, Zschadraß, Zschetzsch and Zschirla.

[3] The first record of a burgward on the Mulde river, called Cholidistcha, dates to the year 1046,[4] when Emperor Henry III dedicated it to his consort Agnes of Poitou.

From 1158, under the rule of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the fortress became the residence of the noble House of Colditz, a dynasty of ministeriales in the Imperial Pleissnerland territory.

In 1504, the local baker accidentally set Colditz on fire, and the city hall, church, castle and a large part of the town went up in flames.

In the 18th century, clay from the Colditz area started to be used in the Meissen porcelain factory that was established in 1710 by Elector Augustus the Strong.

However, under agreements signed at the Yalta Conference, the Americans withdrew and were replaced by Soviet occupation forces late in June 1945.

Public transport is provided by buses, with services to Grimma, Leisnig, Hartha, Rochlitz, and Bad Lausick, as well as to several villages in the vicinity.

In the early 1970s the BBC broadcast a series, Colditz, created by Brian Degas and Gerard Glaister, with Reid as technical advisor.