Germany · 13th century
Burg Gnandstein or Gnandstein Castle is located in Gnandstein, part of the city of Kohren-Sahlis in the Leipziger Land district of Saxony, Germany. The castle is considered the best preserved fortress in Saxony.
The castle stands on a hill overlooking the valley of the river Wyhra in central Saxony. It is situated on the border with Thuringia.
The castle was built in the Romanesque style in the 13th century, probably only with a rectangular groundplan and a residential tower. Parts of the present building still date from this early period. The external walls were extended several times.
During the Thirty Years' War the castle was attacked by Swedish troops and partly destroyed. Shortly before the end of the war the south wing burned down after being struck by lightning.
The well house is more than 33 meters high. It was used as a watch tower.
Text adapted from “Gnandstein Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Gnandstein Castle ranks #6,556 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #584 of the 711 mapped in Germany. Founded c. 1250, it is older than 67% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 1080 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Dresden, 81 km away. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.
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