Schloss Delitzsch

Schloss Delitzsch stands in the north-west of Saxony, in the town of Delitzsch. It is one of the oldest castles in the region and grew from a Slavic wooden fort built in the 9th or 10th century. By the 12th century a stone castle had replaced it, and in 1389 the Meissen margrave Wilhelm I began to add deep cellars and a tower. The Wettin family used the castle as an administrative seat and travelling residence until 1540, when it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style for the Saxon electors.

The castle was altered again in the late 17th century to give it its present Baroque appearance. From 1656 it served as the dowager residence of the dukes of Saxe-Merseburg, and in 1692 the first duchess moved in while a new garden was laid out in the French manner. After her death in 1701 the castle was used only occasionally until 1731, when Duchess Henriette Charlotte made it her home and filled it with fine furnishings and her own collection of treasures.

Visitors today find a Baroque palace with a tall tower topped by a distinctive curved roof. Inside are rooms restored to the early 18th century, including the duchess’s private apartments with their painted linen wallpapers and carved fireplaces. The former service buildings still stand around the courtyard, and the French-style garden has been recreated beside the castle. The building now houses a museum, a music school branch, a registry office and a concert venue, all within the carefully preserved walls of a historic residence.