Colditz Castle - The Rebuilt Castle

The Rebuilt Castle

In 1504, the servant Clemens the baker accidentally set Colditz on fire, and the town hall, church, castle and a large part of the town went up in flames. In 1506, reconstruction began and new buildings were erected around the rear castle courtyard. In 1523, the castle park was turned into one of the largest zoos in Europe. In 1524, rebuilding of the upper floors of the castle began. The castle was reconstructed in a fashion that corresponded to the way it was divided up — into the cellar, the royal house and the banqueting hall building. There is nothing more to be seen of the original fortified castle, where the present rear of the castle is located, but it is still possible to make out where the original divisions were (the Old or Lower House, the Upper House and the Great House).

The structure of the castle was changed during the long reign of the Elector Augustus of Saxony (1553–1586), and the complex was reconstructed into a Renaissance style castle from 1577 to 1591, including the portions that were still in the gothic architectural style. Architects Hans Irmisch and Peter Kummer supervised further restoration and rebuilding. Later, Lucas Cranach the Younger was commissioned as an artist in the castle.

During this period the portal at what is known as the church house was created in 1584, made of Rochlitz Porphyr (rhyolite tuff) and richly decorated in the mannerist style by Andreas Walther II. This dimension stone has been in use in architecture for over 1,000 years. It was at this time that both the interior and the exterior of "the Holy Trinity" castle chapel that links the cellar and royal house with one another were redesigned. Shortly thereafter the castle became an administrative centre for the Office of Colditz and a hunting lodge. In 1694, its then-current holder, Augustus the Strong, began to expand it, resulting in a second courtyard and a total of 700 rooms.