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Saxon Switzerland-East Ore Mountains

Liebstadt

View of Kuckuckstein Castle from Kirchplatz

Castles

Saxon Switzerland-East Ore Mountains

Liebstadt

View of Kuckuckstein Castle from Kirchplatz

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View of Kuckuckstein Castle from Kirchplatz

Recommended by 186 hikers out of 197

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Location: Liebstadt, Saxon Switzerland-East Ore Mountains, Saxony, Germany

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Best Hikes to View of Kuckuckstein Castle from Kirchplatz

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1. Trebnitzgrund Nature Reserve – Steinbrücke im Trebnitzgrund loop from Oberschlottwitz

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2. Trebnitzgrund Nature Reserve – Stone Bridge in Trebnitzgrund loop from Oberschlottwitz

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3. Seidewitz Reservoir – View of Liebstadt loop from Liebstadt

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Albi

July 24, 2020

The castle was first mentioned in a document in connection with the enfeoffment of Günther and Heinrich von Bünau by Friedrich the Younger (Landgrave of Thuringia and Margrave of Meissen) on September 4, 1410. This happened as a result of the Dohna feud, in which the Burgraves of Dohna perished against the Margrave of Meißen (here Wilhelm I of Meißen) and completely lost their possessions in the Burgraviate of Dohna (including Liebstadt). The von Bünau brothers were rewarded with this enfeoffment for their military services to the margrave in this feud, including Weesenstein Castle (1406) and Liebstadt (1410).

One can assume, however, that the settlement and castle (more likely a castle when it was built) were built much earlier. It is not clear whether the settlement or the castle was built first. In a document dated October 19, 1286, the owner Otto von Dohna awarded the town (civitas) to the diocese of Meißen. There is no mention of the castle here. The castle apparently remained in the hands of the Donins. It can be assumed that it already existed, since otherwise a walled city would not have served this place. It is therefore very likely that the town and castle were built in the second half of the 13th century. Other traditions even assume that the castle was built as a border fortress between 930 and 940 under Henry I.

The name "Kuckuckstein" is found for the first time in 1791 in an alphabetical directory of all "writers and officials" in the Electorate of Saxony. Even with this name, it is unclear since when it was used. Since the cuckoo was called "Gauch" until the 16th century, the castle should actually have been called "Gauchstein" until then. The cuckoo was also heraldic animal in the Middle Ages and stood for vigilance - in contrast to the lion (wildness - Lauenstein or Löwenstein castle) and the bear (power - Bärenstein castle). This could explain why the Bünaus no longer used this name after the castle was destroyed during the Dohna feud (1385–1402).

Reconstruction only began in 1453. The castle was built on the foundation walls of the old castle in the style of Arnold von Westphalia. A corresponding inscription can still be found on the outer wall of the palace.

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Albi

July 24, 2020

During the Thirty Years' War, like many German towns, Liebstadt was often ravaged by mercenaries. In 1643 the castle was stormed and looted by the Imperial Hatzfeld mercenaries.
Entrance area of the castle

The von Bünau family owned the castle for over 200 years. In 1651 it fell to Lieutenant Colonel Detlev von Wedelbusch, the second husband of the widowed Anna Sophie von Bünau, who, in turn, sold the castle on December 13, 1694 to Lieutenant General Cunno Christoph von Birkholz. During the possession of the von Birkholz family (verifiable until 1741), the castle was extensively renovated in the Rococo style. In the following years the owners of the castle changed several times.

It was not until 1775 that the district commissioner Hans Carl August von Carlowitz bought the castle from the bankruptcy estate for 40,407 thalers. In addition to the town and castle, the villages of Wingendorf, Herbergen, Göppersdorf, Döbra and Berthelsdorf as well as extensive forests also belonged to the property. The mining rights originally belonging to the castle, however, had already been assigned by the Bünaus to Duke Georg for 700 Rhenish guilders and the high hunt in 1737/38 by the Birkholz for four pieces of game and 100 Meißner gulden to Elector Friedrich August II.

The castle remained in the possession of the von Carlowitz family until 1931. Among the members of this family at this time were a number of physically and mentally gifted representatives. That is why a new spiritual and sociable life moved into the castle. The castle was made more homely and partly refurbished in the romantic style. Also, for example, in 1798 Novalis was a friend of the family at Kuckuckstein Castle and the lord of the castle Carl Adolf von Carlowitz (1771–1837) had himself portrayed with his wife in 1805 by the Dresden painter Anton Graff. In addition, the owner professed freemasonry. At the same time, Carl Adolf also supported Heinrich von Kleist with the publication of the “Phöbus” magazine. In 1800 a masonic lodge was set up in the castle, which was decorated with mysterious, early romantic paintings. The castle's library also has some valuable Masonic writings.

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Albi

July 24, 2020

The time at the beginning of the 19th century left a strong mark on the owners of the castle and throughout the region. The coalition wars, which culminated in the region around 1813, led to destruction, disease, hardship and misery among the population; looting and pillage occurred among the French as well as the Russians. The battles between Russian and French troops and their allies led to a large number of skirmishes between the Erzgebirge and Elbe, of which evidence is still available today (Napoleon's hill at hostels, memorial plaques and cannonballs in Dohna and much more).

On September 9, 1813, Napoléon I stayed in the castle after watching the enemy retreat from the heights north of Liebstadt near Borna. His armed forces still had 400,000 French who camped in and around the city. During this time, Carl Adolf von Carlowitz actively campaigned against the Napoleonic occupation and also served the Russian tsar as major general of the cavalry. He did not come into direct contact with the enemy, however, as he did not reach the Saxon Jägerkorps (2,900 men) he had set up until April 1814. But Paris had already capitulated on March 16.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of family members made a name for themselves, but not the castle. The distress caused by the inflationary period in the 1920s meant that Kuckuckstein Castle had to be sold again. It was bought by Ottomar Heinsius von Mayenburg in 1931.
View from the mountain with the keep

After the Second World War, the castle was expropriated, became public property and was administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and, since 1952, by the city of Liebstadt. The museum was established in 1954 and was initially headed by the teacher Walter Jobst, who was very committed to the preservation of the castle and made a great contribution to research into local history in the Eastern Ore Mountains with a large number of publications. At the same time he brought his collection of local history objects, especially from the native bird and plant world, to the museum's holdings. In addition, the museum has a number of historical objects from Freemasonry such as lodge badges, Masonic aprons and oil paintings depicting former lodge brothers from the Saxon lodges.

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Elevation 400 m

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Location: Liebstadt, Saxon Switzerland-East Ore Mountains, Saxony, Germany

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View of Kuckuckstein Castle from Kirchplatz

1. Trebnitzgrund Nature Reserve – Steinbrücke im Trebnitzgrund loop from Oberschlottwitz

2. Trebnitzgrund Nature Reserve – Stone Bridge in Trebnitzgrund loop from Oberschlottwitz

3. Seidewitz Reservoir – View of Liebstadt loop from Liebstadt

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