Rochsburg Castle

[1] In 1296, the "castrum Burggravii Rochsberg" is named as the apparently preferred residence of Dietrich II of Altenburg.

[1] In 1329, the castle went, through marriage, to Otto of Leisnig, whose descendant, Albert II, ran into financial difficulties and sold the Barony of Rochsburg on 10 March 1448 to Henry, Lord of Gera.

[1] In 1547, when Electoral Saxon troops plundered and razed the weakly defended castle during the Schmalkaldic War,[1] Henry's son, Wolf of Ende, sold the castle and Barony of Rochsburg for 60,000 guilders to the three lords, George, Hugo and Wolf II of Schönburg, who were thus able to further expand their considerable estates in the upper valley of the Zwickau Mulde.

Even the damage by a subsequent fire in 1582, was quickly repaired by the Schönburgs; at that time almost all wooden ceilings were replaced in the form that is still visible today.

Increasing financial difficulties forced the owner in 1911 to open up several rooms in the castle to the public as a small museum.

[1] Three years after the end of the Second World War, the museum was reopened with a larger floor area and has since displayed furnishings from the 16th to 19th centuries.

The castle consists of a quadrangular inner ward with the remains of a Late Romanesque hall or residence and the bergfried in the centre, which is partly made of brick and was built in 1200 and the early 13th century.

The Zwickau Mulde flows around the position on three sides and the Rochsburg is well protected by natural features and is only accessible over the drawbridge that spans the neck ditch.

Its altar, made of sandstone, was finished in 1576 in the Late Renaissance style by castle architect and sculptor, Andreas Lorenz.