The valley of the medieval castles
Route »The valley of the medieval castles«
Historical hiking
The fact that the Mulde, the fastest-flowing river in central Europe, is not navigable, has to a large extent helped it to keep its original character. The numerous sights along its banks are best viewed slowly, on foot on the Mulde Valley Walking Path from Zwickau to Bad Düben.
Distance approx. 175 km
Masters of music
The house where Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau is well worth a visit. The so-called Priests’ Houses by the cathedral are also worth seeing, as they are among the oldest residential buildings in Germany. Osterstein Castle, now a ruin, was used for a long time as a prison. North of Zwickau is Glauchau with its double castle and the church of St George, for which the Saxon organ builder Gottfried Silbermann created one of his famous instruments.
Secular and ecclesiastical pomp
Grünfeld Park, an English style landscape park, is the best-known attraction of Waldenburg. The Renaissance portal of the former Rear Castle serves as a stylish entrance. The Front Castle was remodeled in the 20th century as one of the last stately homes of the nobility in Germany. A valuable ceiling divided into sections with illusionist paintings is only one of the many works of art in the Church of Our Lady on the Mountain in Penig.
Medieval-looking Rochsburg Castle sits enthroned above a bend in the river; the castle chapel is worth visiting. Wechselburg is behind the confluence of the Chemnitz River. The monastery church with its lavishly decorated choir screen is a must, as it is one of the outstanding Romanesque buildings in German-speaking Europe.
Many-sided stone
Farther to the north is Rochlitz, dominated by its castle with the prominent towers. The red porphyry from Rochlitz not only became known in its ground form on sports fields as “cinder track” but was also used in many places as “Saxon marble” for building, for instance in nearby Colditz Castle.
Luther and Bach
On the outskirts of Grimma are the ruins of the former Cistercian Abbey of Marienthron, from which Katharina von Bora, later the wife of Martin Luther, escaped in 1523. In the lovely Old Town, the Renaissance town hall is prominent. The castle is today used as an administrative building. Grimma is a good starting point for visiting Bach’s city of Leipzig, which is nearby.
Former bishop’s seat
Wurzen still creates a medieval impression, especially in the area around the cathedral. The cathedral with its unusual late expressionist fittings is a source of amazement and is one of the oldest and most outstanding church buildings in Saxony. The castle, today a hotel, was also built for the bishop, and is an interesting transition between medieval fortified castle and stately home.
The beginning of the dynasty
The only surviving part of the Ilburg castle in Eilenburg is the Sorbian Tower. Heinrich von Eilenburg was made Margrave of Meissen here in 1089. This founded the rule of the Wettin dynasty in Saxony, which ended with the abdication of the last Saxon king in 1918.
Victim becomes robber
The national park of Düben Heath takes its name from the spa town of Bad Düben. The local countryside museum in Düben Castle is well worth visiting. It was here in 1532 that the robbed horse-trader Hans Michael Kohlhase found no justice as plaintiff and became a feared robber himself. The writer Heinrich von Kleist wrote the novella Michael Kohlhaas as a literary tribute to him.
