Kriebstein Castle towers on a rock cliff high above the Zschopau. This Gothic building was first mentioned in 1384. The name Kriebstein probably goes back to a term from the hunter's language, in which a rock on which the guts (creeps) were removed from the deer after the end of the hunt was called Kriebstein. Margrave Wilhelm I von Meißen then granted the knight Dietrich von Beerwalde the right to hold a castle. The castle was extensively expanded at the end of the 14th century and its later owner, Hugold von Schleinitz, commissioned the builder of the Meissen Albrechtsburg in the 15th century to carry out construction work, to which the complex largely owes its current appearance. Later the extension over the Zschopau and the gatehouse was increased, the drawbridge was removed and the moat was partially filled in. The last changes were to support the castle walls with strong pillars at the end of the 19th century.
In addition to the above men, around 30 other owners called the walls their own. The castle was used to fortify the Meissen Mark until the 15th century. It included extensive property holdings.
Already in 1930 the first parts were made accessible to the public by the then owners, the von Arnim family. The family was expropriated in 1945 and the museum reopened in 1949. The castle has been owned by the Free State of Saxony since 1993 and a large part of the old walls can be visited, such as the Gothic Hall, the treasure vault, the chapel, the knight's hall, the Jadgzimmer and the Brunnenstube.