Hohnstein Castle (Saxon Switzerland)

Geschichte

Hohnstein Castle is a medieval castle in the village of the same name, Hohnstein in Saxon Switzerland in the Free State of Sachsen in East Germany.LocationThe castle is located on a hard sandstone slab, 140 metres above the Polenz valley and is the major landmark of the small town.HistoryHohnstein Castle was probably built around 1200 or earlier as a Bohemian border fortress for the Margravate of Meißen to defend it against Saxony. In 1353 the castle went into the possession of the Bohemian nobleman, Hynek Berka z Dubé, whose coat of arms with crossed oak branches decorates the entranceway to the second courtyard. In 1443 the Berkas of Dubá lost the estate through exchanges and purchase, only mentioned for the first time under their name, to the Electorate of Saxony under Frederick the Humble, although it remained a Bohemian fief until 1806. The Wettins used it as a base for hunting and for salmon spearing, a court and a prison. The original wooden structures were gradually replaced during the 17th and 18th centuries by the present stone buildings and even successfully withstood a Swedish siege in 1639.