Ehrenberg Castle

Ehrenberg Castle, a spur castle in Ehrenberg, East Thuringia, not far from the residential city of Altenburg, was first mentioned in 1244. The current complex was mainly built in 1878 by the two architects Schilling & Graebner in the Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque styles.

A document from 1244 first mentions a Sifridus de Herinberc. With the extinction of the Burggrafschaft Altenburg in 1329, the Wettins became the feudal lords of the Pleißenland and thus also of Ehrenberg. They often pledged the castle to various noble families. The debt-ridden manor of the descendants of the Electoral Saxon Hofmeister Hannibal Germanus von Schmertzing was auctioned off by the ducal chamber in 1785. The Kammergut was administered with that in Zschechwitz. In the survey register of 1787, the manor comprised an area of 104.23 hectares.

From 1805 to 1816, the Altenburg merchants Schönherr and Möller relocated a cotton spinning mill from Burgstädt to the Ehrenberg castle complex. On June 4, 1813, the farm buildings burned down. The new buildings significantly expanded the courtyard area. Stables and tenant's house were thus combined under one roof. This and the barn were rebuilt, while the wash and table houses were demolished without replacement, as was the brickworks in 1848. Further parts of the building were added in 1839, and eleven years earlier, in 1828, a pheasantry was built, which is still commemorated by the street name in the village today. An extension to the brewery was made in 1863 and after 1896 at regular intervals. In 1849, the Kammergut became a Dominialgut, and in 1874 a Staatsgut.

The Ducal Saxon-Altenburg State Estate came into the possession of the Altenburg wool manufacturer Bernhard Schmidt on July 1, 1878. He died as early as 1883, and two years later his widow entered into a second marriage with the chamberlain Hermann von Bloedau, who also managed the estate in Priefel. He retired there in 1921. From 1925, Gottlieb Franz managed the manor and continued the brewery, a cannery, and the mushroom cultivation in the rock cellars, which had existed since 1913. The company J.G. Schmidt jun. Söhne AG from Kotteritz leased the castle on February 11, 1942, for recreational purposes for employees, but it was already confiscated in the summer by the Altenburg Army Garrison Administration as an alternative quarter. In 1945, the owners were dispossessed and expelled by the communists. Until 1948, some farm buildings were partially demolished to obtain building materials. A Machine Lending Station (MAS) for the repair and rental of agricultural equipment and machinery was housed in the intact farm buildings. Today, the castle is being privately restored; in an outbuilding, the Kurier, the weekly newspaper for the greater Altenburg, Schmölln, and Meuselwitz area, has its headquarters.

Architecture

Hannibal Germanus von Schmertzing, who lived here from 1690 to 1715, rebuilt the castle for the first time. The later owner Bernhard Schmidt had it converted into a historicized castle by the Dresden architectural firm Schilling and Graebner in the Neo-Baroque and Neo-Renaissance styles; the work lasted from 1878 to 1880. Older building parts, such as the 16th-century round tower, were included. Further reconstruction work took place in 1892 in the form of an extension and in 1925 on the south wing of the castle.

Garden

With the renovation of the castle around 1880, the garden also underwent a redesign into a park-like complex with a garden house, fountain, and grotto. The park was expanded in 1908 and 1909. Today it is still clearly recognizable as an extensive park.