Hiking Highlight
Recommended by 16 hikers
Around 1480, the location of the present castle is already described. It can be assumed that the castle was built in its present form during this period. A previous building at this point is to be suspected, but so far could not be proven.
Approximately In 1750 the castle was sold by the noble family von Gersdorff to Karl Gotthelf von Hund and Altengrottkau. The new owners had the mansion rebuilt according to their needs. The result was a stately, simple house with two storeys and a heavy mansard roof. This cuts through on both sides of an octagonal tower-like structure carrying a curved roof. Karl Gotthelf of Hund and Altengrottkau, one of the leading German Masons, made Kittlitz Castle a center of Freemasonry.
Through numerous conversions and changes in different epochs under different owners, through various economic uses, the manor was several times structurally changed very strong.
1527 was again the division in Ober- and Niederkittlitz. The western part (Niederkittlitz) received Rudolf von Gersdorff in 1527.
Until 1750 the estate remained in the hands of those of Gersdorff. Then Niederkittlitz came to the family of dog and Altengrottkau. After dog changed repeatedly the owners. Above the northern front door is the cast-iron coat of arms of Wish.
In 1878 the estate owner E.F.W. Fickler had the castle park built. 1909/10, the building was redesigned.
September 14, 2019
Castle von, Karl Gotthelf von Hund and Altengrotkau, also founder of the Trinitatis Church in Kittlitz, de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Gotthelf_von_Hund_und_Altengrotkau
January 3, 2021
Kittlitz was probably the site of a Slavic fortification as early as the 10th century. In the course of the German settlement of Upper Lusatia, a burgward was set up here, which developed into the political and economic center of the area. In the 12th century, a fortified courtyard was built as the core of a small moated castle east of what is now Weißenberger Straße. West of it, roughly where the castle is today, was the Niederkittlitz Manor.Until 1368, the owners of both estates were the Lords of Kittlitz, who are considered to be the oldest noble family in Upper Lusatia and had various tax privileges and their own supreme jurisdiction. In the middle of the 14th century, control of these manors passed to the Nostitz family and the von Gussigk family. At times, both manors were owned by Johann von Gussigk before they were divided again into Oberkittlitz and Niederkittlitz in 1527. Until 1704 (Oberkittlitz) and 1750 (Niederkittlitz), these belonged to the von Gersdorff family, but were then sold to Karl Gotthelf von Hund and Altengrotkau. With this sale, the manor finally shifted to the Niederkittlitz manor.The new owners had the existing manor house remodeled to suit their needs and made Kittlitz Castle into a center of Freemasonry. Karl Gotthelf von Hund and Altengrotkau was one of the leading German Freemasons and from 1743 he was Templar and Army Master of the province of Lower Germany, later head of all German Freemason lodges. Financial reasons forced him to sell his Kittlitz property in 1769. The purchaser was Countess Helena Isabella di Salmour, née Countess Lubieńska, who had had to sell the Zabeltitz manor to the House of Wettin the year before. At the same time, she also acquired the neighboring Undignity Castle. She was the widow of Count Giuseppe Antonio Gabaleone di Salmour from Piedmont, who had received Zabeltitz from his uncle Count Joseph Anton Gabaleon von Wackerbarth-Salmour as a wedding present. Owners changed again in the 19th century. In 1878 the owner E. F. W. Fickler had the palace park laid out. In 1909 Hugo Freiherr von Salza und Lichtenau acquired the manor.
August 14, 2022
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