Around that time the larger villages Hohnbach, Thierbaum, Ebersbach and Tautenhain also developed.ĭuring the Middle Ages, the castle was used as a lookout post for the German Emperors and was the hub of the Reich territories of the Pleissenland (anti- Meißen Pleiße-lands). Forests, empty meadows, and farmland were settled next to the pre-existing Slavic villages Zschetzsch, Zschadraß, Zollwitz, Terpitzsch and Koltzschen. By 1200, the town around the market was established. During 1158, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa made Thimo I 'Lord of Colditz', and major building works began. During 1083, Henry IV urged Margrave Wiprecht of Groitzsch to develop the castle site, which Colditz accepted. In 1046, Henry III of the Holy Roman Empire gave the burghers of Colditz permission to build the first documented settlement at the site. The mannerist portal ( rhyolitic tuff) of the church house carved by Andreas Walther II during 1584. JSTOR ( June 2023) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ĭoat of arms of Augustus of Saxony and his wife Anne of Denmark over the gate to the outer courtyard.Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources.

The castle gained international infamy as the site of Oflag IV-C, a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II for 'incorrigible' Allied officers who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other camps. It had the first wildlife park in Germany when, during 1523, the castle park was converted into one of the largest menageries in Europe. The castle is between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the river Zwickauer Mulde, a tributary of the River Elbe. State Palaces, Castles and Gardens of SaxonyĬolditz Castle 1828 by Ernst Ferdinand Oehme, Albertinum, DresdenĬastle Colditz (or Schloss Colditz in German) is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany.

Military castle museum tanks courtyard