Leseprobe

10 | 11 Weesenstein Castle in Müglitztal is one of the most beautiful jewels in Saxony’s architectural crown – centuries old, preserved from generation to generation and still touched by the magic of the vibrant atmosphere of its rooms. The castle, on its high rocks, is surrounded by the gentle valley landscape of the Ore Mountain foothills. The scars of one of Saxony’s greatest natural disasters, the flood of 2002, have healed and the fully renovated castle sits enthroned on the White Stone , every bit as magical yet com- manding as it has been for more than 700 years. Weysinberg was first mentioned in a document in 1318. How- ever, we can confidently assume that the powerful Burgraves who, at that time, occupied the neighbouring Dohna Castle, built their border castle a long time ago – lacking in comfort but forti- fied against seizure by Bohemian and Meissen rulers. It was their successors, the von Bünau rulers, who transformed the rather gloomy castle into a prestigious residence. Two distinct phases of conversion allow us to trace the castle’s otherwise rath- er vague architectural history. Renaissance and baroque left be- hind traces that are still clearly visible today. Günther was granted Weesenstein Castle in fee from the House of Bünau, which belonged to the ancient nobility of Meissen, in 1406, after he supported Margrave of Meissen William I against the Burgraves of Dohna. While the Donins fled to Bohemia and Hungary, the von Bünaus settled here for more than 350 years. Their work at the electoral court allowed them to expansively extend Weesenstein into an important family seat. This noble family settled here for the longest. The von Bünaus were among the Margrave’s courageous fight- ers and legend has it that only three of them survived the Hussite Wars that claimed the lives of many of Saxony’s young nobility. All of the descendants were and are still only given three names: Heinrich, Rudolf and Günther. This has made it difficult for ge- nealogists and historians to trace individual lines in the von Bünau family tree. The turbulence of the Reformation caused the von Bünaus to also end up in neighbouring Bohemia from 1527. This was per- haps in the hope of being able to remain true to their Catholic beliefs here under the Habsburg kings, but maybe also based on an economic rationale of strategically distributing property in uncertain times. The von Bünaus expanded the rule of Děčín at the centre of their Bohemian estate. They weren’t the only ones – quite a few Saxon noble families occupied country estates along the Bohemian border. However, the Reformation also came to Bohemia in the 16 th century and, after the fateful Battle of White Mountain, several branches of von Bünau nobility decided to re- turn from Bohemia to Protestant Saxony, and to not sacrifice their already Evangelical beliefs to the anti-Reformationist efforts of the House of Habsburg. They returned to Saxony in 1628 after Emperor Ferdinand II threatened expulsion from Bohemia or compulsory Recatholisa- tion, and many settled near their family seat of Weesenstein. Their traces can be found in Lauenstein, Reinhardtsgrimma, Prossen or Pillnitz and elsewhere. The main stem remained in Weesenstein and the court of the von Bünaus flourished for the first time, in the 16 th century. They built the lower palace, with its sequence of residential rooms and magnificent Renaissance portal, which still invitingly welcomes visitors today. That the von Bünaus ran the court at Weesenstein 700 Years of Weesenstein Castle Andrea Dietrich