
Moritzburg Castle () or Moritzburg Palace is a
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
palace in
Moritzburg, in the German state of
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
, about northwest of the Saxon capital,
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
. The castle has four round towers and lies on a symmetrical artificial island. It is named after Duke
Moritz of Saxony, who had a hunting lodge built there between 1542 and 1546. The surrounding woodlands and lakes were a favourite hunting area of the electors and kings of Saxony.
History

The original castle, built from 1542 to 1546, was a hunting lodge for Moritz of Saxony, then Duke of
Saxony
Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
.
[Fritz Löffler: ''Das alte Dresden - Geschichte seiner Bauten''. 16th ed. Leipzig: Seemann, 2006, (German)] Elector
John George II of Saxony had the lodge extended; the chapel was added between 1661 and 1671. Designed by his architect,
Wolf Caspar von Klengel, the chapel is an example of early Baroque architecture.
The chapel was consecrated in a Catholic rite in 1697, after the grandson of John George II, Elector
Augustus II the Strong
Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...
, converted to Catholicism in order to secure his
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
as King of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. Between 1723 and 1733, Augustus had the castle remodelled as a country seat by architects
Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann and
Zacharias Longuelune, adding a formal park, several ponds and a game preserve.
The surroundings of the castle were further developed by Elector
Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, a greatgrandson of Augustus II the Strong, at the end of the 18th century. The Little Pheasant Castle (''Fasanenschlösschen'') was built between 1770 and 1776. The grounds were extended to include
a building for the storage of bird nest‘s, the large Well of Venus, living quarters for
Count Camillo Marcolini and a maritime setting on the Great Lake complete with a miniature harbour with jetty and lighthouse.
Prince Ernst Heinrich of Saxony, who lived in the castle between 1933 and 1945, was the last resident of the
House of Wettin
The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...
. He was dispossessed in 1945 by the postwar
Soviet administration.
Interior of the castle

The interior of the castle is furnished with examples of opulent baroque decor from the time of Augustus the Strong. The walls are covered in 17th century gold-gilded leather. Many rooms' furnishings are dedicated to courtly hunting.
The collection of
red deer antlers is one of the most important of its kind. The castle's largest collection of antlers is shown in the ''Speisesaal'' ("dining room"). Most of its 71 trophies are between 270 and 400 years old; they were purchased or acquired as presents. Among them is the heaviest red deer antler in the world, weighing and spanning almost . In the ''Monströsensaal'' ("monstrosity room"), there are 39 contorted antlers. One specimen, a 66-point red deer antler is from an animal killed by Elector
Frederick III of Brandenburg in 1696.
[Wolfgang Kootz: ''Dresden, Illustrated guide to the state capital and surrounding area'', B&V Verlag, 2010, pp. 99-100.]
In 1723, Augustus the Strong acquired a four-poster bed for his
Japanese palace. It had approximately a million
peacock
Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...
,
pheasant
Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera's native range is restricted to Eura ...
,
guinea hen and duck feathers woven into the canvas. Rather than gluing or tying the feathers onto the canvas, they were woven in as
weft
In the manufacture of cloth, warp and weft are the two basic components in weaving to transform thread (yarn), thread and yarn into textile fabrics. The vertical ''warp'' yarns are held stationary in tension on a loom (frame) while the horizo ...
.
Upon acquisition, Augustus had the curtains removed and turned into wall hangings, inspiring the room's name, ''Federzimmer'', or "feather room". This ensemble was moved to Schloss Moritzburg in 1830. Following an extensive 19-year restoration, the bed and wall hangings have been on view again since 2003.
Examples of Chinese, Japanese and
Meissen porcelain
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first Europe, European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's ...
are shown in the historical ''Porzellanquartier'' ("porcelain quarter"). This exhibition displays porcelain depicting hunting, exotic and mythological motifs as well as animal figurines that are relating to Moritzburg's original determination as a hunting lodge.
The apartments contain examples of opulence in the
lacquered and ornate furniture, such as the
Augsburg
Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...
-made silver furniture styled after
Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
's silver furniture at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
. There are also engraved and inlaid weapons for hunting. The ''Billiardsaal'' ("billiards hall"), named after a former
billiard table in it, contains monumental paintings on leather by
Louis de Silvestre. Eleven rooms are decorated with painted
leather wallpaper from the 17th century.
A collection of royal carriages is shown in the entrance hall.
Park and surroundings

In 1728, a park was added to the castle on the adjacent land to the north. The u-shaped park has an area of approximately 230 by 150 meters. The gardens are in the French style and, because of the death of Augustus the Strong, were never completed. Johann Christian Daniel,
Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann and others were involved in their initial design and planning. The garden's layout follows that of other European royal courts of the time.
During the 19th century, there were rare plants added and the garden was developed into a park in the romantic style.
An 8-arm, star-shaped system of alleys was cut through the ''Friedewald'', the forest on the northern side of the property. In particular, it was designed for royal
fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds" ...
with hounds. The ruins of the ''Hellhaus'' ("glade house"), built in 1787 and designed by Johann Daniel Schade, can be found on a raised point at the intersection of the paths. It served the court hunting parties because from here, the so-called "swan keeper" would indicate the direction of flight of the game they hunted. This was done using flags, which he would raise from the top of the building.
One alley running directly east, visually connects the castle with the ''Fasanenschlösschen'' ("Little Pheasant Castle"), away. Not far from the ''Fasanenschlösschen'' is the Well of
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
, one of the largest Baroque fountains in Saxony. It symbolizes the eastern end of a canal, which runs parallel to this corridor most of the time.
During the reconstruction phase of the palace from 1723 until 1733, the large pond surrounding the castle's artificial island was built from what was originally four smaller ponds. The other ponds in the ''Friedewald'' date from the 16th century and have been used for
carp
The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...
production since then. The channels connecting the ponds allow one to "fish" the carp by draining the water.
File:MoritzburgOct11 Garden.jpg, The park of the castle
File:MoritzburgOct11 ViewFromGarden.jpg, View from the garden to the castle
File:MoritzburgOct11 Hellhaus.jpg, The ruins of the Hellhaus at the intersection of the star-shaped system of alleys
File:MoritzburgOct11 Venusbrunnen.jpg, Well of Venus with the alley visually connecting it with the castle
Little Pheasant Castle

Shortly after the remodelling of Moritzburg Castle as the country seat of August the Strong, a single-story pavilion was built just away by the architect Johann Christoph Knöffel. The pavilion's foundation was later used for the Chinese-style Little Pheasant Castle (''Fasanenschlösschen'') in 1770. Elector
Frederick Augustus III of Saxony had the pavilion built in the middle of the gardens. Johann Daniel Schade who had been the architect in charge of the royal building projects, received the commission for the
Rococo
Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
design. Construction was completed about 1776.
The shell-pink pavilion is located at the end of an alley leading to the main castle. The square building has five
bays wide on each side. The high roof has an
ogee
An ogee ( ) is an object, element, or curve—often seen in architecture and building trades—that has a serpentine- or extended S-shape (Sigmoid curve, sigmoid). Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combination of two semicircle, semicircula ...
profile, capped by an open
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout.
The word derives, via Ital ...
with a pair of Chinese figures under a parasol as a
finial
A finial () or hip-knob is an element marking the top or end of some object, often formed to be a decorative feature.
In architecture, it is a small decorative device, employed to emphasize the Apex (geometry), apex of a dome, spire, tower, roo ...
. Concealed behind plantings to give the pavilion an isolated ambience, were outbuildings used to breed pheasants for use in hunting.
The few rooms, including the elector's study, are furnished with original trappings. The Rococo finishes include murals on canvas, inlaid wood paneling, painted and gilded stucco ceilings, and unique finishes crafted from materials like embroidered silk, straw, pearls and feathers. The interiors were restored between 2009 and 2013 through a collaboration between
Ostdeutsche Sparkassenstiftung,
Sparkasse Meißen, and
World Monuments Fund.
On the front of the building, there is a double-flight stairway leading to the lake with a miniature harbour and jetty. There is also a painted brick lighthouse high. The miniature harbour was used to stage naval battles for the monarch's amusement.
In order to re-enact the famous
Battle of Chesma, the
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey th ...
, a miniature wall representing the original castles at the narrow strait in northwestern Turkey, were also built. Today, the harbour is partly silted because the lake's water level is approximately lower than before.
On the garden side of the castle, a pair of staircases descend to a sunken
parterre
A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, plats, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the ...
, now planted with turf.
Trivia
In 1972 Moritzburg Castle was one of the locations of the Czechoslovak-German film ''
Tři oříšky pro Popelku'' ("Three Wishes for Cinderella"), which became a popular fairy-tale movie in Central Europe.
See also
*
List of Baroque residences
*
Dresden Castle
Dresden Castle or Royal Palace ( or ) is one of the oldest buildings in Dresden, Germany. For almost 400 years, it was the residence of the electors (1547–1806) and List of rulers of Saxony, kings (1806–1918) of Kingdom of Saxony, Saxony from ...
– Residence of the electors and kings of Saxony
*
Pillnitz Castle – Summer residence of the electors and kings of Saxony
*
List of castles in Saxony
Notes and references
External links
Moritzburg Castle official siteMoritzburg Castle - A Fairy Tale and its Treasures
{{Authority control
Museums in Saxony
Castles in Saxony
Baroque architecture in Saxony
Historic house museums in Germany
Water castles in Germany
Hunting lodges in Germany
Buildings and structures in Meissen (district)
Royal residences in Saxony