Chemnitz Castle

Around 1136, Emperor Lothar III initiated the foundation of a Benedictine monastery named “St. Marien” near the Chemnitz river. Over nearly 400 years, the complex underwent several transformations, most recently between 1488 and 1522 in the late Gothic style under Abbot Heinrich von Schleinitz. The Reformation led to the dissolution of the monastery, and the Benedictines left the building around 1540, after which it fell to the Saxon Elector. Under Elector Moritz, the former monastery was converted into a regional administration and hunting lodge.