Augustusburg Hunting Lodge

Elector August had this built between 1568 and 1572 on a basalt hill above the Zschopau valley, a symmetrical Renaissance block with four corner towers around a courtyard, intended as a hunting lodge and a statement. The well in the courtyard is cut a hundred and thirty metres down through hard rock and took years to complete. The Hasenhaus holds a painted hunting frieze in which hares hunt and cook the hunters, a reversal image of a kind found in the period. The lodge now holds a motorcycle museum with a large collection, a carriage museum and a display on birds of prey. A funicular of 1911 climbs from the valley.

History

Before the lodge, the hill held a castle of the von Schellenberg family, built around 1210/30, granted to the House of Wettin in 1324 and strengthened in the late 14th century with an outer wall, a well and a wellhouse, then badly damaged by fire and lightning between 1528 and 1547. Elector Augustus built the new palace both for his hunting trips and to underline his leading place in central Germany after his victory in the Grumbach affair over his Ernestine rivals. The design was long credited to Hieronymus Lotter, master builder and mayor of Leipzig, but a finished wooden model already existed when he was appointed, and the plan is now thought to have been prepared at the Elector's court under the architect Hans Irmscher, with Lotter as chief architect carrying it out (Wikipedia, Augustusburg Hunting Lodge).

The main sights

• The 130-metre well - a shaft cut through granite in the courtyard.
• The hare frieze - painted scenes of hares hunting and cooking the hunters.
• The motorcycle museum - a large collection filling several floors.
• The 1911 funicular - a line climbing from Erdmannsdorf in the valley.

When to go

April to October; the funicular runs seasonally with reduced winter service. Museums close some Mondays in winter. The hill is exposed and cold in winter.

Things to know

The funicular is seasonal. Museum sections have separate or combined tickets. The lodge interior is partly bare.

Nearby

Chemnitz lies west; the Ore Mountains rise south.

Key facts