Kap-herr Mausoleum

It is always worth a visit from Lockwitztal, as the view from the mausoleum over the Upper Elbe Valley near Dresden is fantastic. The building is also one of the last temple-like structures in the Greek style by the old Gottfried Semper.

Great view of Dresden and the Elbe Valley, good place for a picnic

The mausoleum was commissioned in the years 1871 to 1872 by the then owner of the Lockwitz manor, Baron Carl Johann von Kap-herr, in the style of a classical Greek temple. The Dresden architect Bernhard Schreiber (1833–1894), a student of Hermann Nicolai (1811–1881) and Gottfried Semper (1803–1879) at the Dresden Academy of Art, designed the temple-like building. The mausoleum is thus one of the last two Semper/Nicolai buildings in Dresden.
After the entrance superstructure, a staircase leads into the sandstone-vaulted crypt with 48 burial chambers. The first family member to be buried there was Baron Hermann Christian von Kap-herr (1801–1877), who acquired Lockwitz Castle and the associated manor in 1866. The last burial of a family member took place in the mausoleum in 1944.
After the expropriation and deportation of the von Kap-herr family in 1945, the mausoleum and its burial chambers were broken into and plundered. From the end of the 1980s, vandalism was added by so-called horror events in the mausoleum. For this reason, the building was structurally secured and fenced off in 1994.
After long negotiations with several legal entities, the descendants of the Barons von Kap-herr managed to buy back the mausoleum and the associated Krähenwald in 2005. When the mausoleum was being repaired, small parts such as coffin handles and gravestone parts were found among the rubbish. In 2008, the repair work, including the clearing and re-laying of the open spaces, was completed.
If you make an appointment in advance, you can arrange a visit to the crypt by calling 0351-34078921 (according to the information board at the mausoleum). The building has been included in the list of cultural monuments of the city of Dresden and is under monument protection.