Top 20 Castles around Wilsdruff

The Dresden Frauenkirche, a magnificent baroque building, dominates the cityscape of Dresden with its imposing stone dome - the largest north of the Alps. This architectural jewel also stands as a profound symbol of historical events. Destroyed in the Second World War, it remained in ruins for decades until it was finally faithfully rebuilt from its own remains. Of the millions of stones used, approximately 3800 original stones were reused. Today, the Frauenkirche is more than ever a symbol of peace and reconciliation. As a symbol of the city, it shines again in all its grandeur and reminds us of the indefatigable possibility of restoration and hope.

From the castle there is a beautiful climb up the vineyard and you walk directly between the 🍇 vines. From the top you have a wonderful view 🤩.

Small winery with guided tours and tastings, as well as a restaurant and summer festivals in the well-kept park.

Wine culture since 1401 In 1401, Margrave Wilhelm I founded the Wettin vineyard property in Lößnitz. As early as the middle of the 16th century, there was evidence of an electoral wine press in the area of Hoflößnitz, which was first so-called in 1622. With the development of the steep slopes through dry stone wall construction in the Württemberg style that began in the early 17th century and the rounding off of the electoral vineyards in the east of the Lößnitz, Hoflößnitz developed into one of the most important state-owned wineries in Saxony. Immediately after the end of the Thirty Years' War, Elector Johann Georg I commissioned the construction of a representative pleasure house in his winery. Completed in 1650, this small castle, magnificently decorated with wall and ceiling paintings, was the scene of courtly festivals during the grape harvest until the end of the 18th century. The most elaborate festivals were organized by August the Strong, who also founded the tradition of winegrowers' parades in Lößnitz in 1715. In the 19th century, the vineyards in Lößnitz, near Cossebaude and Pillnitz that remained state-owned were managed from Hoflößnitz. In 1840, the wine-growing society in the Kingdom of Saxony organized the first national festival of Saxon winemakers here. The wine procession designed by the painter Moritz Retzsch has had a lasting impact on the wine festival culture in the Elbe Valley to this day. The large-scale phylloxera infestation discovered in 1887 led to the estate being closed down two years later. In 1998, the Hoflößnitz property and the wine-growing history museum collections were transferred to the property of the newly founded Hoflößnitz Foundation, whose main tasks are the preservation and maintenance of the facility and the operation and further development of the Saxon Wine Museum. Thanks to the support of the large district town of Radebeul, the Free State of Saxony, the support association “Kulturlandschaft Hoflößnitz” e.V. and other private and public sponsors, essential renovation goals have since been achieved. The associated vineyards as well as the wine bar and guest house are managed by Weingut Hoflößnitz GmbH, which was founded in 1997. Text / Source: Hoflößnitz Foundation, Knohllweg 37, Radebeul / Saxony https://www.hofloessnitz.de/

The Saxon Viticulture Museum The history of the museum goes back to 1912, when the Hoflößnitz Association, which was founded specifically for this purpose, acquired the castle property, which had been privatized in 1889, and began renovating the buildings and building a collection of wine-growing history. After a delay due to the war, the Lust- und Berghaus opened its doors at Whitsun 1924 as a local history museum for the community of Oberlößnitz. The plan to expand the local history museum into a city museum, which had been pursued since the mid-1930s after the incorporation of Oberlößnitz into Radebeul, was thwarted by the Second World War. In 1967, the Dresden District Council decided to profile the house as a wine-growing museum in the Elbe Valley. As part of the comprehensive renovation of the facility that began in 1977, the new concept has been gradually implemented since the beginning of the 1980s. OPENING HOURS - Tue – Sun from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. - Entry €3.50 per person Text / Source: Saxon Viticulture Museum https://www.hofloessnitz.de/museum/

Hoflößnitz Castle / Pleasure Palace - History In 1401, a large winery, Hoflößnitz, was founded in what is now Radebeul in Saxony-Anhalt. Over time, the estate was expanded with numerous buildings, including a pleasure palace built between 1648 and 1650 by Elector Johann Georg I. A welcome guest in the 17th century was August the Strong, who invited his hunting parties here. After several changes of ownership, a Russian general came into possession in 1899. He redesigned the castle and added a tower structure in the neo-Rococo style. Now that the winery has been parceled out, plans were made to develop the surrounding land. In 1912, an association was finally founded to take care of the renovation of the castle, which had by then been in serious disrepair. In 1924, the community had a local history museum set up in Hoflößnitz Castle. In the same year, the Oberlößnitz youth hostel also moved into the castle. During the Second World War, prisoners of war were housed in the castle, after which the Soviet occupying forces took over the building, which had survived the war unscathed. From 1949 you could visit the local history museum again, which had specialized in viticulture since the mid-1980s. The facility in Hoflößnitz Castle, which has now been upgraded to the Saxon Wine Museum, can still be visited today. Text / Source: Burgen und Schlösser GmbH, Paderborn https://burgen-und-schloesser.net/sachsen/schloss-hofloessnitz/geschichte.html

Beautiful former venue for equestrian tournaments. The stable courtyard is one of the oldest originally preserved court tournament grounds in the world.

Long 16th-century courtyard used for games and tournaments, now known for its Christmas markets.