Albrechtsburg CastleReach for the top!

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»Where is the hill on which three castles stand alongside three waters?« - thus goes an old thyme. The solution to the riddle is »Meissen«. It is here, where a steep rock is surrounded by rivers Elbe, Triebisch and Meisa, and where in 929 a wooden fortification was erected, high above gloomy forests in the eastern-most parts of the then still young Holy Roman Empire.

That fortification was to become the cradle of Saxony, from where the Electors' dynasty of the Wettins ruled for centuries over the steadely strengthening swathe of land at the heart of Europe. Soon replaced by a fortress of solid stone, it henceforth stood out as a solitaire of secular power sending out impulses far beyond the borders of the Electorate. So, in 1471, Germany's first palace was built under the auspices of master builder Arnold von Westfalen, by which the Wetins set a symbol of their power to be seen from far distances -

a masterly building whose architectural solutions and ideas of design impress us in our days. However, after centuries of blossom, the building stayed empty for a long time. Only initiated by the strong will of Augustus the Strong, new life moved into the castle above the Elbe river in 1710 by installing the first European porcelain manufactory there. And from Meissen, the »white gold« set out on its triumphal procession through Europe.

Today, impressive exhibits in the castle rooms commemorate this stroke of genius occidental inventive spirit. In every corner of Albrechtsburg Castle, visitors can look at a true picture book of Saxon history, which revives the fascination of architecture, power and porcelain in Germany's oldest palace.