Heynitz Castle

In the Triebisch valley, located between Meissen and Nossen, a knight's estate, the ancestral seat of the von Heynitz family, was first documented in 1338. A moat secured the original castle complex against enemies. The assertion that an even earlier defensive structure was founded on piles in the swamp could not be clearly proven. However, if one were to follow this theory, the first indications of a pile foundation in the marshy terrain would date back to 1170. A five to eight meter high rubble stone tower is said to have been placed on a square stone foundation, which was raised by a half-timbered construction and a gable roof. Moats and wooden palisades, which were replaced by a ring wall around 1250, provided the necessary protection. The earth gained from excavating the moat was used by the builders to raise the castle plateau.

We stand on historically secure ground from the 14th century onwards. The oldest part of the present castle is the four-story residential tower from this period. Its steep gable roof towers over the other castle wings. The north wing was added in the 15th century.

The "defortification" of castle complexes that began in the country also had consequences in Heynitz. Between 1510 and 1519, the castle was extended to the south, so that the complex was enclosed on all sides. To give the north facade an appealing appearance, the builders added two stepped ornamental gables, which, along with the two oriel windows, gave the castle a Renaissance character. They elaborately designed the smaller oriel window to the east. It bears the coats of arms of the von Heynitz and von Lauterbach families as well as the year 1585, which marks the completion of the castle complex.

By filling in the moats that once surrounded the manor house, a romantic landscape garden with a castle pond was created around 1800.

In the years 1847-49, the chief regional master builder Moritz Haenel carried out extensive construction measures again. He replaced the spiral staircase in the southeast of the inner courtyard with a staircase. In addition to building the grand staircase, Haenel enlarged the windows and made spatial changes inside.

Heynitz Castle was the ancestral seat of the noble family of the same name, which was widespread throughout Saxony. Significant scientists and statesmen emerged from the von Heynitz family. For example, the mining expert Friedrich Anton Freiherr von Heynitz (1725-1802) was involved in the founding of the Mining Academy in Freiberg in 1765.

From its founding until their forced expropriation and expulsion by the communists in 1945, Heynitz Castle was owned by the family. After World War II, the municipal office, a kindergarten, and others used the rooms. In 2004, the von Heynitz and von Watzdorf families bought the castle back. It is also accessible to the public for chamber concerts, art historical tours, and sophisticated seminar programs.