Stolpen (, ) is a town in the district of

Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge Saxon Switzerland-Eastern Ore Mountains (, ) is a district ('' Kreis'') in Saxony, Germany. It is named after the mountain ranges Saxon Switzerland and Eastern Ore Mountains. History The district was established by merging the former districts ...

, in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It is a historical town, that grew at the foot of the ''Schloßberg'' with the castle ''Burg Stolpen''.

Burg Stolpen

Burg Stolpen is a castle built on top of the Schloßberg. The first defensive works were built about 1100 and it was first documented in 1222. Owned by the

Bishop of Meißen The Bishop of Dresden-Meissen is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen in the List of Catholic dioceses in Germany#ecclesiastical Province of Berlin, ecclesiastical Province of Berlin. The dioc ...

for nearly 350 years, it passed to the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

and was expanded in Renaissance style. In 1675 it was further expanded as a fortress.

Anna Constantia von Brockdorff Anna Constantia von Brockdorff (17 October 1680 – 31 March 1765), later the Countess of Cosel, was a German lady-in-waiting and noblewoman, and mistress of Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, in 1706–1713. Eventua ...

, Countess of Cosel, was imprisoned in the castle from 1716 until her death in 1765. The castle fell into disrepair towards the end of the 18th century. It became a museum in 1875, and has been partly restored since then.

Schloßberg

Schloßberg is a hill just to the south of the town formed of prominent

basalt column Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% of a ...

s. It is the formation referred to by

Georgius Agricola Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire, he was b ...

when he coined the term ''

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

''.

Historical population

^* over 10 years old Stolpen Helmsdorf Wilschdorfer 30

Twin towns – sister cities

Stolpen is twinned with: *

Hilzingen Hilzingen is a town in the Hegau region in the district of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Twin towns — sister cities Hilzingen is twinned with: * Lizzano in Belvedere, Italy * Stolpen Stolpen (, ) is a town in the district o ...

, Germany *

Amöneburg Amöneburg () is a town in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in Hesse, Germany. It lies on a mountain and is built around the castle of the same name, ''Burg Amöneburg''. Geography Location Amöneburg lies on a basalt cone that can be seen fr ...

, Germany *

Garching an der Alz Garching is a municipality in the district of Altötting in Bavaria in Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps ...

, Germany *

Jockgrim Jockgrim is a municipality in the Germersheim (district), district of Germersheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, approximately 15 km north-west of Karlsruhe. Jockgrim is the seat of the ''Ver ...

, Germany * Sipplingen, Germany *

Sloup v Čechách Sloup v Čechách () is a municipality and village in Česká Lípa District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 700 inhabitants. The area of the village is well preserved and is protected as a Cultural monument (Czech Republi ...

, Czech Republic

Notable people

Walter von Boetticher __NOTOC__ Walter von Boetticher (11 December 1853 – 3 July 1945) was a German historian, genealogist and physician. Walter von Boetticher was born in Riga, Latvia, the son of the art historian Friedrich von Boetticher (1826–1902) and his w ...

(1853–1945), historian and physician, was a general practitioner at Stolpen *

The Doll Family The Doll Family was an American quartet of sibling entertainers with dwarfism from Stolpen, Germany. They were popular performers in circuses and sideshows in the United States from the mid-1910s until their retirement in 1958. The family members� ...

, a circus sideshow act, were born in Stolpen *

Christian Friedrich Henrici Christian Friedrich Henrici (January 14, 1700 – May 10, 1764), writing under the pen name Picander, was a German poet and librettist for many works by Johann Sebastian Bach, notably the St Matthew Passion of 1727. Life and career Henrici was ...

, also known as

Picander Christian Friedrich Henrici (January 14, 1700 – May 10, 1764), writing under the pen name Picander, was a German poet and librettist for many works by Johann Sebastian Bach, notably the St Matthew Passion of 1727. Life and career Henrici was ...

, Bach's librettist (

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets the 26th and 27th chapters of th ...

's text was written by him) was born here.

References

External links

* * * (in German and English)
Burg Stolpen
(in German) {{SächsischeSchweizOsterzgebirge-geo-stub