Oberlichtenau Castle

Oberlichtenau Castle is a Baroque castle with a castle garden in Oberlichtenau, a district of Pulsnitz in the Saxon district of Bautzen.

In 1718, Count Christian Gottlieb von Holtzendorff inherited the Oberlichtenau manor. To take up his inheritance, he needed a residence befitting his status. Therefore, from 1724, he had a Baroque castle built and a park laid out in English and French style with valuable sandstone sculptures in front of and behind the building.

Christian Gottlieb von Holzendorff sold the castle in 1744 to the Saxon minister Count Heinrich von Brühl. However, he was rarely in Oberlichtenau. King Frederick II of Prussia, who hated Brühl to the utmost, ordered the devastation of Brühl's estates – including Oberlichtenau – after Saxony's defeat in the Seven Years' War. A daughter of Brühl had the castle restored.

Brühl's heirs sold Oberlichtenau in 1774 to Count Andreas von Renard, who sold the property to Count Camillo Marcolini. He was very much occupied with the intrigues at the Dresden court, so he hardly cared for the castle. Thus, the complex visibly fell into disrepair. In 1945, the owners were dispossessed and expelled by the communists.

In the GDR, the castle served as an orphanage. In 1997, the local Christian association bought the castle nursery, which had been separated by the land reform, and established there in 2005 the first Bible garden with elements in Germany. Since October 2008, Oberlichtenau Castle has been in private ownership. The castle park was and remains freely accessible; the ballroom and garden hall can be rented for events.