ザイスラの洞窟・トップ16

Imposing castle, now a specialist clinic

A very impressive ⛪️ ruin in the middle of the forest 🌲🌳 .

Also worth a highlight for me; however, it is privately owned and not open to the public

The small village, probably founded in the 12th century by the Lobdeburg family, was an active fief of the Abbots of Saalfeld and was repeatedly deserted. Since the 16th century, only two houses were occupied as forest and field supervisors, and not always. In 1850, the last family left the isolated place.

There has been a fortification on the castle hill since the 11th century. In 1084, Emperor Henry IV enfeoffed Wiprecht von Groitzsch, the later Margrave of Meissen and Lusatia, with the Castrum Ranis - the first documented mention. (Wikipedia)

First written information from the 9th century as a Slavic refuge. Around the year 1000 it was mentioned as a count's hunting lodge and from 1080 as a "fortified house" of the Count of Schwarzburg (Leutenberg line). Over the centuries there were ongoing conversions and extensions to become the count's and widow's residence of the Leutenberg family and the princes of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. 1934 major fire at Friedensburg. Restoration work by the GDR government. From 1958 it served as a guest house for the GDR Council of Ministers. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 it was used as a hotel complex. This was followed by extensive renovation work and the installation of a hospital in 1993. The "Friedensburg Castle" complex opened as a specialist hospital for dermatology. Guided tours of the specialist hospital and the castle complex by appointment. The inner courtyard is recommended for visits 🤩.

In the end, it was very worth seeing and informative, and the museum staff were also super friendly.

Unsuspectingly, this castle turns out to be a specialist hospital ... what isn't there to discover here