Curtain-arch windows, cell vaults, looped rib vaults, and the balconies richly decorated with sculptures on the Grosser Wendelstein. Where have you seen this before? Albrechtsburg Palace exhibits architectural styles from the late Gothic to the Renaissance, whose diversity is almost unparalleled. And with features that are unique to this region. The fact that this was created here and has survived to this day is a stroke of luck or rather a special case of history. The Wettin dynasty, which provided the Margraves of Meissen and the Landgraves of Thuringia, was granted the Duchy of Saxony (-Wittenberg) in 1423, which also included the title of Elector. At the same time, the name Saxony "migrated" from the Middle Elbe around Wittenberg further south. In 1471, the grandchildren of the first Saxon Elector of the Wettin dynasty, Ernst and Albrecht, commissioned a new residential palace as the central seat of government for what was, by the standards of the time, a vast state. In Arnold of Westphalia, a brilliant architect was found. Even though Ernst and Albert envisioned joint rule when they came to power in 1464, it didn't stay that way. In 1485, the country was divided. Construction of the palace, later known as Albrechtsburg, was halted. Construction work was only provisionally completed in 1521. The palace never became a magnificent residence. From 1710 to 1863, it was even used industrially as the site of Europe's first porcelain factory. Over the next 20 years, the palace was restored. The interiors were decorated with extensive historical paintings depicting events in Meissen, Thuringia, and Saxony, which can still be viewed today as a museum.