Schloss

Schloss Apolda stands in the southern part of Apolda’s town centre in Thüringen, replacing an earlier medieval fortress. The castle occupies a hill spur that once held the old Burg, with the Katharina-Brunnen fountain marking the approach. The site overlooks the Ilm valley and once guarded a key route between Jena and Kölleda. The fortress began as a regional court under the Frankish counts of the Husitin Gau, first named in 1119 with Graf Wichmann. By the 13th century the Vitzthume family, Mainz’s ministeriales, held the castle until Wettin lords took over late in the 14th century. In 1451 the Sächsischer Bruderkrieg left the Burg in ruins, and a new Renaissance-style Schloss rose on the foundations. Remnants of the old walls still appear in the present structure. Today the Vitzthumbau wing houses the town’s cultural office, registry, music school branch, local theatre fund and amateur theatre group. The 19th-century Südwestbau, restored in 1999, contains a small concert hall for cabaret and chamber music. The castle’s quiet courtyard and the fountain below offer a calm contrast to the busy streets just metres away.