Blankenhain Castle (Schloss Blankenhain), Germany

 

Location: Blankenhain, Saxony Map

Constructed: 12th century

Open: 10 Feb- 30 Apr 9am- 5pm

May- 15 Oct 9am- 6pm

16 Oct- 15 Nov 9am- 5pm

16 Nov- 15 Dec opened for registered groups

Entrace Fee: € 5, children € 2.50

Tel. +49 36608 2321

 

Description of Blankenhain Castle

Blankenhain Castle or Schloss Blankenhain is a medieval residence that stands in the town of Blankenhain, Saxony in Germany. Blankenhain Castle or Schloss Blankenhain was constructed in 12th century. In the 15th century it was first mentioned in the documents. It was also around this time that stronghold was surrounded by a moat filled with water. Medieval fortress was burned down in 1661 and in 1669 it got its Baroque appearance you see today. It was further increased in the 18th and 19th century. After the conclusion of the World War II Soviet forces intended to destroy the castle, but intervention by the local citizens stopped these plans from carrying on. Today the mansion is open to the public and houses an open- air museum of Agriculture and rural area. The complex covers a total area of 11 hectares with over 80 exhibit buildings. It depicts a peasant's life between 1890 and 1990.

 

History

The history of the building probably goes back to the 12th century. In 1316 a Ludewik von Blanchenhain is mentioned in the bailiffs' document book and in 1423 a Sophie Blangkynn. Later on, the owners change very often, but one gender of the "Blanken" does not appear again.

It was first mentioned in documents in 1423 as a moated castle, built from an earlier fortification. Half of the castle burned down in 1661, it was rebuilt until 1699, other sources speak of 1700. The mansard roof from 1765 with the baroque tower domes is still there.

In 1699 a pre-castle was added as a farm building parallel to the castle. In the 18th and 19th centuries, this preliminary castle was rebuilt several times and in 1949 it was split into two new farm buildings.

Until 1774 the manor belonged to noblemen, later to middle-class families and wealthy manufacturers. One of them was Carl Gottlob Scheuereck, owner of a bobbin lace manufacture in Annaberg-Buchholz, who had a hereditary burial place built in the form of a mausoleum in the Byzantine style in the Blankenhain cemetery in 1785. The heirs sold the property in 1861 to the Hof factory owner Gustav Münch-Ferber. Under his direction, the manor experienced an upswing that lasted until the First World War. Ferber had the property renovated and the equipment brought up to date.

In 1924 Friedrich Wilhelm Zacher, a manufacturer from Leubnitz, bought the property and lived there from 1925 to 1945. After the end of the Second World War, the castle was to be demolished on the orders of the Soviet occupation, but this was prevented by the use of courageous Blankenhainers could.

 

Museum

In 1981 the then agricultural and agricultural museum Schloss Blankenhain was opened. Since then it has been steadily expanded and expanded. On October 2006 it was opened with a new exhibition as the “German Agricultural Museum Schloss Blankenhain”. It currently contains 100 thematic exhibitions, several display areas with historical crops, meadows and pastures, the pond area in front of them and an extensive castle park.

In Blankenhain and the surrounding area there are additional museum parts, for example the rectory with the rectory, a mausoleum with a crypt, a barn with an exhibition of historical hearses, a morgue and the graves of former manor owners.