Rochlitz Castle

It was built on the site of an imperial castle, erected in the second half of the 10th century, which fell into the possession of the Wettin margraves in 1143.

Its appearance, which includes several Romanesque wings, is considerably influenced by its remodelling into a margravial schloss in the fourth quarter of the 14th century.

Further conversions and additions followed at the end of the 15th and in the 16th centuries, when the castle became a secondary residenz, dower house and hunting lodge for the Wettin family.

From the 18th century the castle served as an administrative centre (justice department and district court); in 1852 it became a gaol, which necessitated considerable alteration.

The palace lies southwest of the historic town centre of Rochlitz on a spur of the Rochlitzer Berg that descends gradually towards the east-northeast and is flanked by the Zwickau Mulde to the southeast and the Hellerbach stream to the northwest.