Albrechtsburg Meißen

current exhibition

Albrechtsburg Meissen – a Gothic dream come true

In 929, the first German king, Henry I, founded a fortified castle on the Meissen castle hill, which from then on was to serve as the center of the newly conquered territories in the east of the empire and thus became the “cradle of Saxony”. From the middle of the 13th century onwards, the profound transformation of the mountain area began, as a result of which the Gothic cathedral, the granary and, around 1500, the castle of the Meissen bishop were built.

Under the direction of the Saxon master builder Arnold von Westfalen, the brothers Duke Albrecht and Elector Ernst had a new margraviate castle built from 1471. It is the first purely new palace in Germany and, in terms of both construction and style, a masterpiece of European rank. However, the late Gothic palace never served as a permanent residence. From 1710, however, it gained Europe-wide importance as the first production site of the Meissen porcelain manufactory. After the manufactory moved out in 1863, extensive restoration and painting with monumental history paintings took place. Since 1881, Albrechtsburg Meissen has been open to the public as a high-ranking architectural monument and memorial to Saxon history. In 1990, the Free State of Saxony was re-established here, thus linking up with the origins of the state’s history.