Artificial ruins Pillnitz

The site of the current ruin was once home to a medieval fortification. A document from 1403 mentions two manor houses in Pillnitz, with the upper one located on the later Ruinenberg. Until the late 18th century, the area remained untouched. From 1780, the Friedrichsgrund was developed as a hiking area for Elector Frederick Augustus III. The construction of the ruin in 1785, probably under Johann Daniel Schade, marked the completion of these works. Parts of the old castle may have been integrated to create a connection to the former fortification. The construction followed the guidelines of garden theorist Christian Cay Lorenz Hirschfeld, who described such ruins as a symbol of transience.