Cultural center
Museum
CastleChemnitz-Klaffenbach
Klaffenbach Castle
Klaffenbach Water Castle is located in the Klaffenbach district of the city of Chemnitz in the Free State of Saxony. The castle, situated not far from the Würschnitz river, was formerly also known as Neukirchen Castle. It represents a nearly unique example of a Renaissance water castle in Saxony.
In 1543, the wealthy Annaberg master minter Wolff Hühnerkopf bought Neukirchen and Klaffenbach, in addition to Burkhardtsdorf, from the Saxon Elector Johann Friedrich I, and had the castle built on their field boundaries between 1555 and 1560. The castle and the adjacent manor passed into the possession of the Barons, and since 1667 Counts, von Taube, who unsuccessfully tried to acquire city rights for their castle and estate. The castle came into bourgeois hands when a Schneeberg merchant acquired it in 1819. From 1926, the municipality of Klaffenbach owned the manor, and from 1934, also the castle. From 1935, the municipality used the castle complex for the Reich Labour Service, and from 1947 to 1989, as a youth workhouse for girls. During this time, the grounds fell into disrepair. Between 1991 and 1995, it was extensively renovated with the help of European funding. For several years now, concerts of various musical genres have regularly taken place in the castle. During the century flood of 2002 and the Würschnitz flood in August 2010, large areas of the buildings were submerged.
Description+
The four-story castle building is surrounded by a moat. Particularly striking are the curved gable and the keel-arched roof, as well as the square shape of the building. The ground floor offers, in addition to the castle information, smaller event rooms and the gallery café, a small chapel, which, provided with a cross-rib vault and ceiling painting in 1860, is now used as a wedding hall. Additionally, there is a large coat of arms relief of Dietrich von Taube from 1616, which was once at the entrance. In the conference and exhibition hall on the first floor, classical wall paintings can be discovered, some of which have been restored. This room is also called the "Green Salon". Dietrich von Taube had the second floor extended in the 17th century. The half-timbered walls and the ornately designed ceiling are impressive there. This floor is also included in exhibitions. The top floor was initially just the attic; today, the room, equipped with a wooden beam construction, functions as a community hall, which is equipped with a cabaret stage.
The outbuildings enclose the main building in a U-shape. They house a bobbin lace room, a silversmith, a candle shop, and a hotel with an adjoining restaurant. From 1995 to 2008, the Museum for Saxon Vehicles, which is now located in the historic high-rise garage "Stern-Garagen" in Chemnitz, was based here. Today, Golfclub Chemnitz GmbH & Co. KG is located here.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: Thomas Eichler
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 50.7691, 12.8887