Palais Cosel

The site of the current Palais Cosel was originally occupied by a building approximately twenty meters high, constructed after 1560, which initially served as a wind and horse mill. From the early 17th century, it was used as a powder tower. Elector Frederick Augustus II of Saxony gifted the tower in 1744 to the master builder Johann Christoph Knöffel and war commissioner Caesar, who had it demolished. In its place, Knöffel erected the Cäsar- and Knöffel House in 1745/1746, two five-story structures. These buildings were severely damaged during the Seven Years' War in 1760, with the Knöffel part being completely destroyed. The remaining Caesar part was later integrated into the new construction of the Palais Cosel. Frederick Augustus von Cosel, a half-brother of the Elector and General of the Infantry, acquired the properties in 1762 and commissioned Julius Heinrich Schwarze to build a residential palace, which was completed by 1764. The five-story, eleven-axis building featured a main facade with pilasters, a central risalit, and a triangular pediment. A ballroom was located on the first floor.