Dobitschen Castle

Dobitschen moated castle, also known as Bachoff's Castle, is a moated castle and former manor house in Dobitschen in the Altenburger Land in Thuringia.

The manor was first mentioned in 1204, when Heinrich von Dobitschen had the local church built. After the extinction of the Dobitschen family at the end of the 16th century, the property changed hands several times. From 1692 to 1945, it was owned by the Bachoff von Echt family. In 1692, Johann Friedrich I. Freiherr Bachoff von Echt (1643–1726), a Saxon-Gotha privy councillor, acquired it from the Schauroth heirs. In 1714, Dobitschen, along with other properties of the Bachoff von Echt family, was united into a family fideicommissum. The baroque reconstruction or new construction of the castle took place in 1696. In 1945, the owners were dispossessed and expelled by the communists.

The manor complex is still completely preserved in its form, and one can recognize the transition from the baroque moated castle to its later use. The moated castle has been in private ownership since 2000. Until its sale, the property was used by, among others, an agricultural cooperative and the Schmölln music school. The cultural monument was damaged in a fire on April 7, 2004. It is currently for sale (2015).