Kriebstein Castle (Burg Kriebstein)

This luxurious knight's castle on a high cliff has been something we've wanted to visit for a long time, as its pictures on the internet are really enticing. You have also seen it in several movies, for example in The Grand Budapest Hotel.

At the time of our visit, the castle was under renovation and a large parking lot was being built, so we had to park quite far away. Because of the renovations, we didn't go inside the castle itself either. Fortunately, the renovation is not visible from the outside, at least from the river side, where the most picturesque views are.

The castle was built by Dietrich von Beerwalde at the end of the 14th century. Later it changed owners a dozen times. In 1465, Hugold III. von Schleinitz, Obermarshal to Elector Ernst and Duke Albrecht, acquired the castle and significantly rebuilt it.

In 1471, under the direction of Arnold von Westfalen, the famous builder of Albrechtsburg, the household building with a dance hall and the rear part of the castle were rebuilt in High Gothic style, and the kitchen building was erected. In the course of these works, the castle acquired its modern size and appearance.

The castle was opened as a museum in the 1930s. However, after the Second World War, the castle was used to house internally displaced persons and forestry. Despite this, the museum was reopened in 1949.

In 1986, a treasure was discovered in the fireplace in the residential tower of the castle - gold, silver and porcelain objects hidden there in 1944 by Count Heinrich von Lehndorff, who had participated in a plot against Hitler and was condemned and hanged by the Nazis after an unsuccessful assassination attempt on the Fuhrer.

See the official website for the schedule.








Gettinng there: parking lot 51.043750, 13.018306. The nearest train station Waldheim is 4 km away.