Top 17 Castles around Wülknitz

To mark its 20th anniversary in 2013, the Elsterschloss-Gymnasium Support Association commissioned the creation and installation of an art installation on the grounds of the present-day Elsterschloss-Gymnasium. As part of the "Art at the Castle" project, a bronze casting model of Elsterschloss Elsterwerda was created. This model provides information about the former and current uses of the building complex, as well as its historical context throughout its existence, thus further enriching the castle's presence. https://www.elsterschloss.de/kunstobjekt.html

From 1796 until 1814, the castle remained under the administration of the Saxon Electors. In 1781, the officers' quarters were built right next to the castle. In 1851, the Prussian Provincial School Board commissioned the establishment of a seminary in Elsterwerda Castle. The Royal Prussian Teachers' Seminary opened in 1857 with 19 students. In 1926, it was replaced by the Elsterschloss Higher Secondary School, a state-run secondary school. In 1938, this school became a comprehensive school. During the GDR era (from 1959), the castle became the Extended Secondary School (EOS "Vladimir Komarov"). After German reunification in 1991, it became the present-day "Elsterschloss Gymnasium Elsterwerda." Following extensive renovations of the buildings beginning in 1995, the gymnasium is considered one of the most beautiful schools in Germany. https://lausitz.de/de/kultur/schloesser/artikel-elsterschloss-gymnasium-elsterwerda.html

The Saxon post milestone stands near the Protestant town church of St. Catherine on the main street. This distance marker, dating from 1738, is considered an important piece of cultural heritage and a landmark that shapes the townscape. In August 2025, the approximately 4.60-meter-high column was dismantled for professional restoration. https://www.elsterwerda.de/kursaechsische-postmeilensaeule-erstrahlt-im-neuen-glanz/

On the outskirts of the small town of Elsterwerda, where the Pulsnitz River flows lazily through the countryside like a memory, the castle rises – not magnificent, not loud, but with that quiet dignity that only old walls possess. The air smells of rain and wet wood, the treetops in the castle park stand bare and reverent, as if they wanted to listen to the history that lives everywhere between the walls. Formerly a hunting lodge, then a place of learning – the traces of time lie on the building like patina on old silver. The facade is light and understated, the roof brick-red, a clock tower that not only strikes the hour, but also the passing of eras. Anyone who stands here senses: This is not a place for quick selfies. This is a place for slow steps, for pauses, for looking back – and perhaps also forward. Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, court architect to Augustus the Strong, left his mark. Not a baroque exaggeration, not a miniature Versailles – but a building that seems to have grown into the land. It tells of noblemen and teachers, of princes and students. Today, young people learn here. They hurry across the courtyard, past the linden trees that provided shade even in the 19th century. They may not know it – but they are walking on ground steeped in history. And then there is the park. Not a botanical garden, but a small, vibrant setting with mature trees that glow in autumn, exude fragrance in spring, and quietly crackle under the frost in winter. You can linger here, even if you have nothing to do. The palace is not accessible, but it is enough to stand before it – as a stroller, as a thinker, as a silent guest. Those who come with open eyes will notice: Elsterwerda Palace is not a museum. It is a living chapter of the past, embedded in the present – and perhaps also an inkling of what can remain when so much passes away.

A very beautiful old postal mile marker. Marks the postal route from Berlin to Vienna.

Very beautiful castle with a pretty little park with great old trees.🌳

The oldest part of the building, the Knights' Hall between the two mighty towers, which has been preserved as a ruin, dates from 1335. The lower parts date from the 13th to 14th centuries, the late Gothic cell vaults in the upper floors date from around 1530, the gable tops and roof turrets were added towards the end of the 16th century. In the 15th to 16th centuries the castle was rebuilt as a palace and the north wing was rebuilt in 1890 after a fire. The gatehouse to the front courtyard was built around 1560 and decorated with dormer windows and gables. The palace forms a closed square with late Gothic and Renaissance architectural forms, the wing on the Elbe side, built around 1530 for Otto Pflugk, has a late Gothic brick gable with tracery pattern, the stair towers in the courtyard have Renaissance gables. The cell-vaulted "drinking room" in the southwest tower was decorated with rich paintings in 1532, which are attributed to the circle around Lucas Cranach. The castle is surrounded by a spacious English landscape park with some old trees, which stretches down the mountainside to the Elbe. (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schloss_Strehla)

Pyramid-shaped post mile post with Saxon-Polish coat of arms. Originally at the northern city gate