Liebau Castle (Ruin)

Liebau Castle is a castle ruin on a flat rock spur on the right valley slope of the Elster. It is located southwest of the Liebau district of the municipality of Pöhl in the Vogtlandkreis (Saxony) and about 2 km north of the Pöhl Dam.

The hilltop castle (spur castle) was first mentioned in a document in 1327 as "castrum lubawe". In the 14th century, the Plauen Vogt Heinrich the Elder exchanged the castle with the Wettins, among others, and in 1441 the castle was owned by the Doelau (Dolen, Dolyn), who rebuilt the castle in the Renaissance style between 1500 and 1550, transforming it into a palace-like structure.

In 1640, the castle was plundered by Swedish mercenaries and the stair tower was set on fire. The castle remained in the possession of its last owner, Gottlob Christian von Doelau auf Ruppertsgruen, and his wife Sophia Christina geb. von der Planitz until 1725, then was in the possession of Johanna Charlotte von Beust until 1742 and subsequently fell into disrepair.

From 1995 to 1997, preservation work was carried out in cooperation with the State Office for Archaeology, and today it is an archaeological monument.

Layout
The castle complex on an approximately triangular plateau of 50 by 30 meters presumably consisted of a defensive and residential tower, the gate tower, and a curtain wall with a battlement, further protected by two 5 to 7-meter-wide and 2-meter-deep ditches cut from the rock. The actual palace ruin measures 20 to 25 meters. To the east, the complex was protected by a partially natural 20 to 25-meter-wide and 5 to 6-meter-deep neck ditch with a drawbridge.