Zabeltitz Castle

At the site of today's palace, there was a moated castle with a moat in the Middle Ages to protect the old salt road. In 1565/66, Nickel Pflugk had the old fortified moated castle converted into a residential castle in the Renaissance style. In addition to new farm buildings, he also had the current St. George's Church newly built. Due to the extensive construction activity, the property was heavily indebted and was therefore sold by the heirs to Elector Christian I of Saxony in 1588 after the death of Nickel Pflugk and his wife Elisabeth. Therefore, the residential castle, built only a few years earlier by Nickel Pflugk, was re-established as a hunting lodge.

During the Thirty Years' War, Zabeltitz was plundered and devastated by the passing Swedes in 1637. After some repairs were carried out on the dilapidated buildings in Zabeltitz in 1655, Johann Georg II held hunting camps in Zabeltitz again in 1657 and 1659. From 1699, the manor was leased. However, the castle remained reserved for the Electors. Later it served as the dower seat of the widowed Electress Anna Sophie (mother of August the Strong). Since the tenants often did not pay the fixed rent and in 1727, due to a bad harvest, five villages could not raise the taxes, August the Strong tried to get rid of the unprofitable property as quickly as possible. August had already promised a manor to his loyal companion, Field Marshal Count August Christoph von Wackerbarth, in 1717. Now the opportunity arose to give away Zabeltitz, as an exchange of Pillnitz for Zabeltitz with Countess Cosel had already failed. On February 16, 1728, Count von Wackerbarth received the Zabeltitz manor in exchange for two Dresden houses with furniture, which the king had temporarily transferred to him, as Wackerbarth's Dresden official and residential seat, the Government House, had burned down to its foundations the previous month.

Under the new owner, almost the entire manorial property was quickly redesigned. Wackerbarth completely rebuilt the castle on the island (the "Palais") and laid out a magnificent Baroque garden - just as he had already created the Baroque garden Großsedlitz between 1719 and 1723. All construction work had to be largely completed within just two years, because in 1730 a large maneuver of the Saxon troops, the so-called Zeithainer Lustlager, took place under the leadership of Field Marshal Wackerbarth, where the new estate was to be presented to the high guests. These construction measures were carried out under the direction of Johann Christoph Knöffel, who was at that time the chief regional master builder in Saxony and had been promoted by the general building superintendent Wackerbarth for several years. The numerous preserved plans show that Wackerbarth originally wanted to enlarge the Palais. Whether due to lack of money or time constraints, the newly created Baroque castle was ultimately built on the foundations of the old castle and thus retained almost the same floor plan as its predecessor. The old farm buildings from the time of Christian I, built at the end of the 16th century, were also demolished, with the exception of the electoral stable building. In their place, a new access road to the Palais was created, the beginning of which was emphasized by two gate pillars and "gatehouses".

After the Elder Wackerbarth died in 1734 and was buried in Zabeltitz's St. George's Church, the Younger, his step- and adopted son Count Joseph Anton Gabaleon von Wackerbarth-Salmour, inherited all his possessions. While he used Wackerbarth Castle in Radebeul himself, he sold the Courland Palace in Dresden and gave Zabeltitz to his nephew Giuseppe Antonio Gabaleone, Conte di Salmour, who grew up in Piedmont, for his wedding to Countess Helena Isabella Lubieńska; after his immediate death in 1759, Countess Salmour managed it for her children; she lived in Prague as a lady-in-waiting to a sister of Emperor Joseph II, who himself visited Zabeltitz on a journey. She was considered quite pious and strict in morals: Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) complained in his memoirs "Histoire de ma vie" that she had ensured his expulsion from Vienna. At the request of Prince Xaver of Saxony, the temporary regent of the Electorate, however, she sold the property back to the Wettins in 1768; in return, she acquired the estates of Kittlitz Castle and Unwürde near Löbau. Prince Xaver then lived at Zabeltitz Castle until his death in 1806.

Subsequently, the owners changed. In 1816, the chamberlain Friedrich Freiherr von Weissenbach acquired Zabeltitz. In 1889, it went to the chamberlain Arnold Woldemar Freiherr von Frege-Weltzin, who saved the property from impending decay. He renovated the church in 1897 and had various alterations made to the palace in 1898. In the 19th century, the moat surrounding the palace was also partially filled in. Until this time, the Große Röder river enclosed the entire palace, after which it only flowed along the front side of the palace. In 1932, the estate was divided, the Jay family received the palace and Kommerzienrat Paul Habich received the Old Castle. In 1945, the owners were dispossessed and expelled by the communists.

After 1945, the palace temporarily served as accommodation for resettlers and as a children's home for Greek children. From 1955, the building housed a training center (Institute for Socialist Further Education in Transport). A fundamental reconstruction took place after 1989 by the new owner, Deutsche Bahn. This used it as a training center. The city of Großenhain bought the palace and Baroque garden in December 2010. The symbolic handover of the keys took place on April 15, 2011.