Blankenhain Castle

Schloss Blankenhain is a large castle near Crimmitschau in Saxony’s Zwickau district. First mentioned in 1423 as a moated fortress, it began as a medieval stronghold. A fire in 1661 destroyed half the structure, which was rebuilt by the century’s end. In 1765 the castle gained its present Baroque form with mansard roof and domed towers. After the Second World War Soviet authorities ordered its demolition, but local people prevented the destruction. The site now houses an open-air museum of central Germany’s rural life between 1890 and 1990. The museum covers eleven hectares and contains sixty buildings. It shows how farms, workshops and homes were organised in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Visitors walk through reconstructed farmyards and fields that once belonged to the estate. Inside the castle visitors find period rooms arranged to show daily life in earlier centuries. The outbuildings include stables, barns and a smithy, each furnished with original tools. Outside, paths lead past orchards, fields and a working windmill. The surrounding landscape still reflects the agricultural history of the region.