Altrathen Castle
Encyclopedia
Altrathen Castle is located on a rock outcrop near Rathen
in Saxon Switzerland
in the German Free State of Saxony.
very little is known about the history of this fortification. It was probably built at the same time in the 11th century. The castle was first mentioned in the records in 1289. In 1469 Altrathen and Neurathen castles were slighted
.
In 1888 the industrialist, Eduard Seifert, bought the ruins of the castle and rebuilt it in 1893 in a Neogothic style. Of the medieval castle only the cellars and parts of the spiral staircase of the keep
have survived.
Aftern 1945 the building acted as a works holiday home for the VEB Brau und Malz in Dresden and later for the East German state bank
. In 1995 the site was sold by the Treuhandanstalt to a private owner. Since then the building has been used as a small hotel and restaurant.
Rathen
Rathen is a village in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, in Saxony, Germany, about 35 km southeast of Dresden on the Elbe River. Rathen has between 400 and 500 inhabitants....
in Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland
Saxon Switzerland is a hilly climbing area and national park around the Elbe valley south-east of Dresden in Saxony, Germany. Together with the Bohemian Switzerland in the Czech Republic it forms the Elbe Sandstone Mountains....
in the German Free State of Saxony.
History
Unlike the neighbouring Neurathen CastleNeurathen Castle
Neurathen Castle , which was first mentioned by this name in 1755 , is located near the famous Bastei rocks near Rathen in Saxon Switzerland in the German Free State of Saxony. This was once the largest rock castle in the region, but today only the rooms carved out of the rock, passages, the...
very little is known about the history of this fortification. It was probably built at the same time in the 11th century. The castle was first mentioned in the records in 1289. In 1469 Altrathen and Neurathen castles were slighted
Slighting
A slighting is the deliberate destruction, partial or complete, of a fortification without opposition. During the English Civil War this was to render it unusable as a fort.-Middle Ages:...
.
In 1888 the industrialist, Eduard Seifert, bought the ruins of the castle and rebuilt it in 1893 in a Neogothic style. Of the medieval castle only the cellars and parts of the spiral staircase of the keep
Keep
A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...
have survived.
Aftern 1945 the building acted as a works holiday home for the VEB Brau und Malz in Dresden and later for the East German state bank
Staatsbank
right|thumb|250px|Headquarters of the East German Central BankThe State Bank of the GDR was the central bank of East Germany. It was established on 1 January 1968 from the Deutsche Notenbank and took over the majority of the same tasks.The State Bank of the G.D.R...
. In 1995 the site was sold by the Treuhandanstalt to a private owner. Since then the building has been used as a small hotel and restaurant.
Sources
- Richard Vogel: Werte unsere Heimat Band 1; Gebiet Königstein Sächsische Schweiz. 2nd ed., Akademie Verlag, Berlin 1985.