Tanneberg Manor

The oldest reference to Tanneberg is the mention of "Wernherus et Pribizlaus de Tanninberch" (Werner and Pribislaus of Tanneberg) in a document from 1227, which suggests a manorial seat in the village at that time. In 1282, a "Gebeharus de Tannenberg" (Gebhard of Tanneberg) was mentioned. The village of Tanneberg itself appears as "Tannenberg" in 1334 and 1378 respectively, in 1547 it is called "Tannabergk" and in 1551 "Thonberg". Thereafter, a distinction was made between "Alt Tanneberg" and "Neu Tanneberg" (both in 1791).

Alttanneberg is a Waldhufendorf (forest-strip village) on a Waldhufenflur (forest-strip field system) with estate blocks, covering approximately 483 hectares in 1900. Several three- and four-sided farmsteads are preserved in the village. Alttanneberg also features a former manor (Rittergut) with a manor house, whose origins trace back to a medieval castle complex built between 1200 and 1250. The archaeological monument is located on a small spur of land in a valley niche and contains the remains of a moated castle, but it was built over by the manor house.

The owners of the manor exercised manorial rights as well as hereditary and high jurisdiction in the village. After the aforementioned Lords of Tanneberg, Tanneberg belonged to the Altzella Monastery. In the early modern period, the manor mentioned in 1438 was owned, among others, by the Freiberg mayor Peter Alnpeck and by members of the noble families von Staupitz, von Heynitz, and von Hartitzsch. In 1660, the von Miltitz family acquired the newly registered manor, and in 1675 it came into the possession of the von Schönberg family, remaining theirs until their expropriation and expulsion by the communists in 1945. From 1547, Tanneberg was administered by the Erbamt Meißen. In 1843, it was under the jurisdiction of the Amt Meißen. From 1856, the village was subject to the Gerichtsamt Wilsdruff and from 1875 to the Amtshauptmannschaft Meißen.

Manor House

The imposing, three-story manor house with its twelve window axes and mansard hip roof stands in Alttanneberg on the street "Am Rittergut". It was built in 1744 under the rule of Adolf Ferdinand von Schönberg (1685–1758). Its right side wing dates back to an older building from the 16th century and was redesigned in 1879 under Carl Wilhelm von Schönberg-Pötting. His predecessor, Karl Friedrich Rudolf von Schönberg-Pötting, had an English-style park laid out around the manor house in 1852. After the expropriation of the von Schönberg family, the manor house served residential purposes and as a kindergarten and youth club. Thereafter, it stood empty.