Breitenbrunn Castle

The Elector's Hunting Lodge Breitenbrunn (colloquially Jagdschloss Breitenbrunn) in the eponymous Ore Mountains municipality was converted from a watchtower, presumably erected in the 13th or 14th century, stands today as a ruin under monument protection and is a landmark of the town.

The complex in the southwest of the church at the upper end of Breitenbrunn presumably dates back to a watchtower with a moat from the founding period of the Schwarzenberg dominion, which formed the starting point for the settlement of the municipality. Its name is said to derive from the rampart, in which there was a spring (broad well).

On the slightly distorted-rectangular, walled core of the defensive complex with a footprint of about 13 by 20 meters was the tower (today a tower ruin) of about 9 by 9 meters in size. The core plateau is about 1 to 1.5 meters above the water surface. In front of it is a surrounding, water-bearing moat about 3 meters wide, which is additionally walled on the outside.

After a forework of the Schwarzenberg dominion was initially built and later a settlement emerged, the watchtower was converted into a hunting lodge, for accommodation and storage of hunting equipment. The building, which was also used as the forester's residence, burned down in 1610, including a newly added third floor and an attached spiral staircase, and again in 1617, was rebuilt and fell into disrepair, apparently unused, after 1700 to a ruin.

In 1959, the complex was placed under archaeological monument protection. The adjoining park is regularly used for local festivities, especially the fair.