Dahlen Castle

Schloss Dahlen is a late-Baroque palace in the small Saxon town of Dahlen. It stands on ground once occupied by a medieval noble house and later by a 14th-century Rittergut. The present building was erected between 1744 and 1751 for Heinrich Graf von Bünau by the architect Johann Christoph Knöffel. The palace has an H-shaped plan with over thirty rooms, including the Grand Stair Hall and the Kaisersaal. Its interiors once featured trompe-l'œil ceilings painted by Adam Friedrich Oeser. The palace is worth visiting for its royal connections. King Frederick the Great stayed here in 1763 to sign part of the Treaty of Hubertusburg. The von Bünau family owned the estate for more than a century, passing it through three generations. After 1945 the building passed to the East German state and served as a police school and later a bakery. A fire in 1973 destroyed the central wing, leaving only the side wings intact. Visitors today see a roofless ruin with many window panes already restored. The flat concrete roof was added in the 1970s and recently repaired with donations. An association holds a right of use to preserve what remains. The surrounding town of Dahlen is quiet, with no other large monuments, so the palace ruin dominates the skyline.