The time of the von Riesch family
In 1763 a new chapter in the history of this estate began.
The Seven Years' War also had catastrophic consequences in Neschwitz. Repeated army camps set up near the village by Austrian and Prussian troops resulted in confiscation, arson and mistreatment of the inhabitants, so that the estate and castle, but especially the population of Neschwitz, were on the verge of ruin. In this situation, it turned out to be a stroke of luck that Wolfgang Freiherr von Riesch bought the Neschwitz estate in 1763[11] and chose the castle grounds as his summer residence.
Wolfgang Freiherr von Riesch
The Rieschs originally came from the canton of Zurich and were a very respected and wealthy family in Saxony. Wolfgang von Riesch was the Electoral Privy Councilor of Saxony and was highly honored with the Swedish Order of the North Star.[12] He had also made a career in Vienna, where he was court banker and imperial councilor. He used his wealth for the beautification and expansion of the castle complex as well as for charitable purposes, but for the time being he gave the residents of Neschwitz wages and bread. The park was expanded with an English-style section located between the Balustrade and the Blue Gate. Three fountains lying in one axis and a hunting pavilion were built here
In 1766 the baron decided to settle here permanently with his family and commissioned the Saxon court architect Friedrich August Krubsacius, who had become known for the construction of the Dresden country house, to build a large new palace on the other side of the Blue Gate. The construction of the New Palace[13] lasted until 1775.[14]
The baron had several sons. The eldest, Isaak Wolfgang Freiherr von Riesch, born in 1749, was a privy councilor to the Electorate of Saxony and a royal Polish chamberlain in Dresden, and was also known for his financial support of the Bohemian composer Johann Baptist Vanhal. Isaak took over the management of the house in 1776 and in 1788 had an obelisk with a relief portrait and a commemorative plaque, which is still there today, erected in memory of his father at the end of the transverse axis of the park opposite the park entrance.