Schloss Spree

Schloss Spree stands in the village of Spree within the municipality of Hähnichen in the Upper Lusatia region of Saxony. A Baroque water castle, it once served as the main building of a knightly estate until the owners were dispossessed in 1945. After that it became a private residence and later a block of flats. The building is protected as a monument and is also called Schloss Oberspree to distinguish it from nearby Schloss Niederspree. The estate first appears in records in the late 14th century under the noble family of Spree. In 1682 it passed to the von der Gabelentz family, whose coat of arms is carved above the entrance. The original castle was destroyed by fire in 1712 and rebuilt in 1749 by Hieronymus Christoph von der Gablentz. Later owners included the von Rathenow family in the 19th century and the Swiss von Diesbach family at the turn of the 20th century. Visitors see a two-storey rectangular structure with a tall half-hipped roof. The courtyard façade has nine window axes framed by giant pilasters and a richly carved sandstone portal. Above the door sits a broken pediment containing the combined coats of arms of the builder and his two wives. On the west side an early 19th-century Gothic-style extension with an octagonal tower once served as a chapel. The interior remains unfinished after recent renovations.