Schloss Moritzburg (Zeitz)

Schloss Moritzburg is a Schloss (palace) in Zeitz on the White Elster in the Burgenlandkreis in Saxony-Anhalt. The present baroque building dates from the 17th century. Before that, it was a royal palace and fortified seat of a bishop. The Zeitz Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul is also located on the site.

In connection with the foundation of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg in 967 the diocese of Zeitz was founded as an auxiliary bishopric in 968 by Otto I. In 976, his son Otto II gave the already existing royal castle to the bishop. In 1028, the bishop's seat was moved to Naumburg, which is 35 kilometres (22 mi) away, and in 1285 back to Zeitz again.

In 1429, the Hussite Wars caused severe damage. In 1644, in the Thirty Years' War, the castle complex was destroyed. Plans by Johann Moritz Richter served as the basis for the reconstruction from 1657-1718. The reconstructed castle served as residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Zeitz.

In place of the medieval bishop's castle, a three-winged complex with a tower in the middle of the main wing was built, the cathedral was converted into a castle church with a crypt as the burial place of the ducal family, and the badly damaged Gothic castle wall was repaired and renewed. In addition, the castle was given a fortification ring according to the bastion system. Particularly impressive are the casemated redoubts on the city side, which have been preserved to this day, with the monumental gatehouse in between. The castle has pleasure gardens, riding arena, menagerie, and orangeries in the courtly area.

In 1931, the collections of the Zeitzer Geschichts- und Altertumsvereins (Zeitz History and Antiquarian Society) were transferred to the castle where a museum was opened. Today, the Museum Schloss Moritzburg Zeitz presents seven permanent exhibitions, including the Deutsches Kinderwagen Museum (German Pram Museum).

Schloss Moritzburg is surrounded by the Zeitz Castle Park which is part of the Saxony-Anhalt Garden Dreams project.

Text adapted from “Schloss Moritzburg (Zeitz)” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Schloss Moritzburg (Zeitz) ranks #3,926 of 8,764 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #314 of the 618 mapped in Germany. Founded 968, it is older than 93% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 146 atlas entries founded in the 10th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,969 times in the last 60 days, more than 68% of the atlas. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. It is one of the 34 landmarks on the atlas's regional map of Thuringia. See how Germany compares in the castle statistics.

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