Schwarzenberg Castle (german: Schloss Schwarzenberg) was based on a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

fortification and together with St. George's Church dominates the scene of the large county town of

Schwarzenberg Schwarzenberg may refer to: People * House of Schwarzenberg, Franconian and Bohemian aristocratic family which was first mentioned in 1172 ** Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg (1771–1820), Field Marshal in Austrian service during the Napol ...

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 ...

's district of

Erzgebirgskreis Erzgebirgskreis is a district ('' Kreis'') in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is named after the Erzgebirge ("Ore Mountains"), a mountain range in the southern part of the district which forms part of the Germany–Czech Republic border. I ...

Construction history

The castle was probably founded in the 12th century as a fort and was the original base for the settlement of Schwarzenberg and its vicinity. The former castle was given its present appearance by a conversion into a hunting lodge for the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

from 1555 to 1558. In 1851/52 its

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

and south wing were raised and, in 1875/76, an office building extension was added.

Sources

* Georg Dehio: '' Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler Sachsen: II. Regierungsbezirke Leipzig und Chemnitz.''

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture, and historic preservation. History Deutscher Kunstverlag was fo ...

, München 1998, S. 908. * Walter Fröbe: ''Herrschaft und Stadt Schwarzenberg bis zum 16. Jahrhundert'', Schwarzenberg: Geschichtsverein, 1930/37. * Hans Becher: ''Schloss Schwarzenberg: Baugeschichte, Ereignisse'', Museum Erzgebirgisches Eisen und Zinn Schwarzenberg, 1984 * Götz Altmann: ''Damit es in alter Schönheit erstrahlt - Zur Rekonstruktion und Restaurierung des Schlosses Schwarzenberg.'' In: '' Erzgebirgische Heimatblätter'' 3/1980, S. 66–67,

References

{{Coord, 50, 32, 14.93, N, 12, 47, 14.24, E, type:landmark_region:DE-SN, display=title Museums in Saxony Castles in Saxony Museums in the Ore Mountains Schwarzenberg, Saxony Buildings and structures in Erzgebirgskreis