Knauthain Castle

The first documented mention of a manorial seat in Knauthain dates back to 1174. By 1289, the estate was owned by the Lords of Knuth, before passing to the von Pflugk family in 1350. Initially referred to as a Vorwerk in 1445 and later as a Rittergut in 1479, ownership changed to the von Schönberg family in 1558 and to the von Dieskau family in 1591. The current castle was constructed between 1698 and 1703 under Karl Hildebrandt von Dieskau. Financial difficulties forced the Dieskau family to sell it to the von Hohenthal family in 1753. Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Hohenthal, a royal envoy, initiated a renovation of the castle and the redesign of its park in the English style in 1868. During the Battle of the Nations in 1813, the tenant's dwelling at the castle served as a meeting place for the Russian-Austrian War Council, and on October 19, 1813, the village was plundered and set ablaze by Napoleonic lancers.