SCHLOSS HARTENFELS - CASTLE HARTENFELS
Beautiful Renaissance castle overlooking the Elbe, built as the principal residence of the Electors of Saxony in Torgau.
One of the most beautiful Renaissance castles in Middle Germany! Overlooking the Elbe River, Hartenfels Palace was the principal residence of the Princes-Electors of Saxony, the Wettins of the Bernestine line, after the partition of Leipzig from 1485 to 1547, when Torgau fell into the hands of the Wettins of the Albertinian line, who sat in Meissen and then Dresden. The Elector-Princess dynasty put all their talents (in every sense of the word) into building a palace worthy of regional monarchs. Protectors of the Reformation, the Wettins of Torgau hosted Martin Luther here on numerous occasions, especially as his wife Katharina von Bora was the daughter of the family. In the early 16th century, Hartenfels Castle was one of the strongholds of the great Reformer, who baptized the princely chapel. This masterpiece of the German Renaissance, which dominates the Elbe on one side and the old town on the other, opens its exterior doors to visitors (remarkable courtyard, beautiful gardens and the moat, where bears live!) To visit its interiors, you'll need to follow a tour of the exhibition devoted to the political victims of the Nazis. During the dark days of the Second World War, the castle was used as a prison for Wehrmacht detainees, and a number of the castle's rooms have now been converted into a memorial and museum of political detention. The castle was also used for the filming of the classic 1970 East German blockbuster Cinderella , and a themed tour can be booked at the Tourist Office.
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