Burg Oybin

Burg Oybin stands on a 514-metre hill in the Zittau Mountains, above the village of Oybin in Upper Lusatia. The site includes the ruins of a hilltop castle and a Celestine monastery founded in 1369. A cemetery and an inn with a restaurant occupy the summit plateau alongside the castle remains. The castle’s history reaches back to the Bronze Age, with medieval records showing its use by robber knights in the 13th century. Emperor Charles IV expanded the site in the 14th century, building a royal residence and a Gothic church in collaboration with the workshop of Peter Parler. The monastery housed up to twelve monks until the Reformation, when it was secularised and later used for storing weapons. Visitors walk through the castle ruins, the restored imperial house, and the monastery remains. The slope below the castle holds a church containing notable wall paintings. A camera obscura at the highest point offers views across the surrounding hills. The monastery cloister, with its fine acoustics, now serves as a concert hall and hosts the annual Mönchszug processions.