Scharfenstein Castle (german: Burg Scharfenstein) lies on an elongated
hill spur
A spur is a lateral ridge or tongue of land descending from a hill, mountain or main crest of a ridge. It can also be defined as another hill or mountain range which projects in a lateral direction from a main hill or mountain range.
Examples of ...
above the village of Scharfenstein, in the municipality of
Drebach
Drebach is a municipality in the district of Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It consists of the ''Ortsteile'' (divisions) Drebach, Grießbach, Im Grund, Scharfenstein, Spinnerei, Venusberg, Wilischthal and Wiltzsch.Ore Mountains of
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, Germany. The castle is one of 24 sites run by the state-owned
State Palaces, Castles and Gardens of Saxony
The State Palaces, Castles and Gardens of Saxony (german: Staatliche Schlösser, Burgen und Gärten Sachsen) is a state-owned company with its head office in Dresden. It belongs to the Saxon State Ministry of Finance and has the aim of preserving S ...
(''Staatliche Schlösser, Burgen und Gärten Sachsen'').
History
The original structure was built in 1250. It is suspected that the von Waldenburgs ordered its construction, but only its first owner occupant is known for certain. The von Waldenburgs had in their possession the estates of Waldenburg, Rabenstein, Scharfenstein, and
Wolkenstein
Wolkenstein is a town in the district Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Ore Mountains, on the river Zschopau, 22 km southeast of Chemnitz.
The town is situated on a rocky spur near the confluence of Zschopau and ...
, which covered a contiguous area extending from the middle reaches of the River Pleiße to the Ore Mountain crest. Nine villages paid duties to the lord of the castle, including
Grießbach
Grießbach is a village and a former municipality in the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) in Saxony, Germany. It was absorbed into the municipality Venusberg in 1999, and became part of the municipality Drebach in January 2010. It counts approximately ...
, Großolbersdorf, Drebach and Herold. When, in the 15th century, Greifenstein Castle was destroyed, Scharfenstein also took over the guardianship of Thum, Ehrenfriedersdorf and Geyer. As a result, its value increased, so that in 1439 the Elector acquired the area from the Waldenburgs who were heavily indebted to him. On 26 January 1492 Henry of Einsiedel bought Scharfenstein Castle and its associated villages of Grießbach, Großolbersdorf, Grünau, HohndorfHopfgarten and Scharfenstein It remained in the family until 1931.c.f.
Following a fire during the night of 1/2 June 1921 the entire residential wing and part of the domestic wing was destroyed. From 1921 to 1923 the damaged wings were partially rebuilt to plans by
Bodo Ebhardt
Bodo Heinrich Justus Ebhardt (5 January 1865, Bremen – 13 February 1945 at Marksburg near Braubach) was a German architect, architectural historian, castle explorer, and founder and longtime president of the German Castles Association (''Deut ...
, based on the old design.
In 1931, a factory owner, Captain Eulitz from Fährbrücke, acquired possession. By his efforts in 1932 in a bird observatory was established. Hundreds of nest boxes were put up throughout the 325 hectares of woodland on the estate;
bird banding
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
was carried out and scientific reports published, with the support of the Chemnitz Ornithological Society. In 1945 this forest was seized and made
public property
Public property is property that is dedicated to public use. The term may be used either to describe the use to which the property is put, or to describe the character of its ownership (owned collectively by the population of a state). This is in ...
, the castle was initially used as the mining school for the state-owned Wismut mining company and, in 1951, a special children's home was established here for maladjusted boys. In 1967, it was converted into a detention centre for juvenile delinquents. Ornithological work was undertaken by the museum at Augustusburg Castle.
In 1993 the castle was taken over by the Saxon Palace Department of the Free State of Saxony (''Freistaat Sachsen – Sächsische Schlösserverwaltung''). In the period that followed the castle was renovated as a historic monument and converted into a museum. In 1995, on the completion of the renovation work, various exhibitions were opened - and for the first time since 1945, the castle was again open to the public. The ''
bergfried
''Bergfried'' (plural: ''bergfriede''; English: ''belfry''; French: ''tour-beffroi''; Spanish: ''torre del homenaje'') is a tall tower that is typically found in castles of the Middle Ages in German-speaking countries and in countries under German ...
'' is still used today as an
observation tower
An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, an ...
.
File:Scharfenstein, Blick zur Burg.jpg, Zschopautal - Blick auf die Burg Scharfenstein
File:Saxony - Scharfenstein on the Zschopau river - view from the castle.jpg, View from the castle of the so-called Geese Corner (''Gänsewinkel'')
File:Liesel 28-11-10 Burg Scharfenstein 1.JPG, View from the Zschopau river bank car park
Literature
* Otto Eduard Schmidt: ''Die wiedererstandene Burg Scharfenstein an der Zschopau''. in: Mitteilungen des Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz Vol. XIII, Heft 9-10/1924, Dresden, 1924, pp. 316-332
*Richard Steche: Scharfenstein. In: Beschreibende Darstellung der älteren Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Königreichs Sachsen, 5. Heft: Amtshauptmannschaft Marienberg. C. C. Meinhold, Dresden, 1885, p. 28.