Hohnstein Castle (Saxon Switzerland)
Encyclopedia
Hohnstein Castle is a medieval castle in the village of the same name, Hohnstein in Saxon Switzerland
in the Free State of Sachsen
in East Germany.
and is the emblem of the small town. It lies on a hard sandstone
slab, 140 metres over the Polenz valley.
border fortress for the Margraviate of Meißen to defend it against Saxony
. In 1353 the castle went into the possession of the Bohemian nobleman, Hinko, Berka von Dubá, whose coat of arms with crossed oak branches decorates the entranceway to the second courtyard. In 1443 the Berkas of Dubá lost the estate through exchanges and purchase, only mentioned for the first time under their name, to the electoral Saxony
under Frederick the Humble
, although it remained a Bohemian fief until 1806. The Wettins used it as a base for hunting and for salmon
spearing (Lachsstechen).
In the succeeding centuries the castle acted alternately as a seat of administration (electoral Amt), a court and a prison. The original wooden structures were gradually replaced during the 17th and 18th centuries by the present stone buildings and even successfully withstood a Swedish siege in 1639.
After the dissolution of the Amt in 1861 the castle served as a men's correctional institute (Männerkorrektionsanstalt) and from 1919 as a juvenile prison.
In 1925 the mighty castle became a youth hostel (Jugendburg) and was one of the largest and most attractive youth hostels in Germany (with about 1,000 bedspaces). The Hohnsteiner Kasper puppet theatre is named after the town and castle and put on its first performance in 1928 in the castle. In the years 1933/34 a concentration camp was established here for so-called protective custody prisoners (Schutzhäftlinge), in practice 5,600 political prisoners. In the Second World War a prisoner of war
camp was housed in the castle and, after the war it was a refuge for displaced persons. From 1949 it was extended to become the largest youth hostel in East Germany; at the end of the SED rule an internment camp for 890 political opponents was planned. In 1953 the National Science Museum for Geology
, Botany
, Zoology
and Ecology
of the countryside was established here. In 1997 the castle was turned into a Friends of Nature
house and youth guest house, to which the museum belongs today.
Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sandstone Mountains....
in the Free State of Sachsen
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
in East Germany.
Location
The castle is enthroned on a sandstone rock high above the Polenz valleyPolenz (river)
The Polenz is the right-hand, smaller headstream of the Lachsbach in the German state of Saxony. Its lower course flows through the western Elbe Sandstone Mountains in a canyon-like valley.- Geography :...
and is the emblem of the small town. It lies on a hard sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
slab, 140 metres over the Polenz valley.
History
Hohnstein Castle was probably built around 1200 or earlier as a BohemianBohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
border fortress for the Margraviate of Meißen to defend it against Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. In 1353 the castle went into the possession of the Bohemian nobleman, Hinko, Berka von Dubá, whose coat of arms with crossed oak branches decorates the entranceway to the second courtyard. In 1443 the Berkas of Dubá lost the estate through exchanges and purchase, only mentioned for the first time under their name, to the electoral Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
under Frederick the Humble
Frederick II, Elector of Saxony
Frederick II was Elector of Saxony and was Landgrave of Thuringia .-Biography:...
, although it remained a Bohemian fief until 1806. The Wettins used it as a base for hunting and for salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
spearing (Lachsstechen).
In the succeeding centuries the castle acted alternately as a seat of administration (electoral Amt), a court and a prison. The original wooden structures were gradually replaced during the 17th and 18th centuries by the present stone buildings and even successfully withstood a Swedish siege in 1639.
After the dissolution of the Amt in 1861 the castle served as a men's correctional institute (Männerkorrektionsanstalt) and from 1919 as a juvenile prison.
In 1925 the mighty castle became a youth hostel (Jugendburg) and was one of the largest and most attractive youth hostels in Germany (with about 1,000 bedspaces). The Hohnsteiner Kasper puppet theatre is named after the town and castle and put on its first performance in 1928 in the castle. In the years 1933/34 a concentration camp was established here for so-called protective custody prisoners (Schutzhäftlinge), in practice 5,600 political prisoners. In the Second World War a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp was housed in the castle and, after the war it was a refuge for displaced persons. From 1949 it was extended to become the largest youth hostel in East Germany; at the end of the SED rule an internment camp for 890 political opponents was planned. In 1953 the National Science Museum for Geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
, Botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, Zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and Ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
of the countryside was established here. In 1997 the castle was turned into a Friends of Nature
Friends of Nature
Friends of Nature is an international movement with a background in the Social Democratic movement, which aims to make nature accessible to the wider community by providing appropriate recreational and travel facilities.-Background:It is a non-profit organisation which, in addition to encouraging...
house and youth guest house, to which the museum belongs today.
Site
Access to the castle is only possible from the market square (Marktplatz) in Hohnstein. Of the once numerous castles east of the Elbe in Saxon Switzerland, Hohnstein is the only one that has survived intact.Sources
- A. Bergmann: Hohnstein. in: Alfred Meiche: Burgen und vorgeschichtliche Wohnstätten der sächsischen Schweiz. Dresden 1907, p. 236-259
- Matthias Donath: Schlösser in der Sächsischen Schweiz und im Osterzgebirge. edition Sächsische Zeitung, Meißen 2006
- Winfried Pätzold: Burg Hohnstein. Reihe "Der historische Ort" No. 51, Berlin 1999
- Manfred Schober: Die ehemalige St.-Anna-Kapelle auf der Burg Hohnstein. in: Mitteilungsheft des Arbeitskreises Sächsische Schweiz im Landesverband Sächsischer Heimatschutz, Band 3, Pirna 2006, p. 17-23