Schloss Albrechtsberg

Albrechtsberg Palace or Albrechtsberg Castle (German: Schloss Albrechtsberg) is a Neoclassical stately home above the Elbe river in the Loschwitz district of Dresden. It was erected in 1854 according to plans designed by the Prussian court and landscaping architect Adolf Lohse (1807–1867) at the behest of Prince Albert, younger brother of the Prussian king Frederick William IV.

About 1803 James Ogilvy, 7th Earl of Findlater had acquired several vineyards in the Dresden Elbe Valley and had a manor house built on what later became the site of Albrechtsberg Palace. However, Ogilvy died in 1811 and did not witness its completion. Johann Gabriel Krebs bought the country house and rebuilt it into a restaurant that became the most popular day trip restaurant of Dresden, abode of Gottfried Semper and Richard Wagner.

Prince Albert of Prussia (1809–1872) in 1853 had secondly married Rosalie von Rauch, Countess of Hohenau (1820–1879); due to this morganatic marriage he was forced to leave the Prussian court and had to look for a new home abroad. He commissioned his chamberlain's wife, Baroness of Stockhausen to find an adequate domicile. She turned to the Saxon capital and acquired the area “Findlater's Vineyard”, including the manor and gardens, by order of the Prince for 16,000 Thalers.

Adolf Lohse, a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, designed the plans for the present-day castle. For the gardens, the Prince engaged the Prussian landscape architect Eduard Neide (1818–1883) who created the plan, though the court gardener Hermann Sigismund Neumann (1829–1880) accomplished them. Before Albrechtsberg, the adjacent Villa Stockhausen was completed. The villa was originally established for the chamberlain, but was used for the first year as domicile of the Prince and his wife. 1854 the castle was accomplished and the couple moved in.

After Prince Albrecht and Rosalie had died, their younger son Count Frederick of Hohenau (1857–1914) lived in the castle until his death, whereafter his elder brother Wilhelm (1854–1930) took over the residence. In 1925 Wilhelm finally had to sell the castle and the territory because of gambling debts. The new owner was the City of Dresden. After 1930, the gardens were opened for the public and redesigned as a recreational area for the citizens of Dresden under Mayor Wilhelm Külz.

Text adapted from “Albrechtsberg Palace (Dresden)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Schloss Albrechtsberg ranks #2,668 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #196 of the 492 mapped in Germany. Founded 1854, it is older than 8% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 562 atlas entries founded in the 19th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 2,598 times in the last 60 days, more than 72% of the atlas. 12 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Dresden, 4 km away. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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