Krobnitz Castle

Krobnitz Castle in the district of Görlitz was the retirement residence of the Prussian Minister of War and Navy, Albrecht Graf von Roon. After successful restoration, it serves as a museum and event venue.
 
Krobnitz Castle is located in the village of the same name, 5 km northwest of Reichenbach/O.L., of which it has been a district since 1994. Krobnitz lies on the Schwarzer Schöps, a tributary of the Spree. Approximately 2 km east of Krobnitz, the Königshainer Berge begin. The Krobnitz area belongs to the part of Upper Lusatia that fell to Prussia at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 and only returned to Saxony in 1945.

In 1592, a manor house was described in what is now Krobnitz, already mentioned as Crobenos around 1315. From 1604 to 1686, the Lords of Nostitz (in the order Christoph, Hans, Karl Christoph, and Johann Kaspar) are named as owners of the estate. At the beginning of the 18th century, it belonged to Caspar Heinrich von Vittinghoff, followed by Karl Heinrich Wilhelm and Friedrich Wilhelm von Uechtritz. During this time, a baroque manor house was built, and a park was laid out. From 1824, the estate was in the hands of the Oertzen family.

In 1871, the Prussian Minister of War and Navy, Albrecht Graf von Roon, acquired the Krobnitz estate to convert it into his retirement residence after resigning all his public offices in November 1873. After this representative conversion, one can speak of a castle. He also expanded the adjacent park and had a family crypt built in the rear part in 1876. His son Waldemar built a neo-Gothic chapel over this crypt in 1893.

The von Roon family was dispossessed in 1945. The castle briefly served as a commandant's office for the Red Army. Afterwards, it was occupied by refugees and displaced persons from the German eastern territories. In the early 1950s, 11 apartments were installed, leading to the loss of room structure and other architectural details. The decay of the complex steadily progressed despite its use, including by a daycare center.

In 2000, the city of Reichenbach/O.L. acquired the property from the Treuhand and, through vigorous construction activity between 2002 and 2005, excellently restored the castle and the adjacent buildings.

After the restoration, the castle once again has the appearance that Albrecht Graf von Roon gave it during his conversion. He had raised the mansard floor of the baroque building and provided the neoclassical building with a flat roof with a balustrade. This made it somewhat resemble his former place of work, the Prussian Ministry of War. The lost tower was also rebuilt. A hall building added in 1914, which did not fit into the overall ensemble, was demolished.

Today, the castle serves as a museum and is also the seat of the Silesian-Upper Lusatian Museum Association. The museum houses permanent exhibitions on the history of the estate and on Graf von Roon. Special exhibitions, summer concerts, and a wedding room complete its use.

The former inspector's house, located east of the castle, is used by the Association for Labor Market and Regional Development (AUR) e.V. for occupational therapy support for long-term unemployed individuals who are difficult to place and disadvantaged young people through employment measures in the wood and metal trades.

In the Old Forge, opposite the castle, a large and a small hall have been created, and on the upper floor, a lecture hall. Regular lectures and chamber concerts, as well as private celebrations, take place here.

The park, which had become wild over many years, was also redeveloped. The Roon family crypt is still present. Unfortunately, the crypt chapel that was formerly above it is missing, having been demolished in 1980 despite its good state of preservation, for ideological reasons.