Home | Schloss Hartenfels

Eine Oma läuft mit ihrem Enkelkind auf der Schlossbrücke — André Forner

Martin Luther, Lucas Cranach, Emperor Charles V, Heinrich Schütz, Tsar Peter I and Napoleon – Hartenfels Castle is closely associated with numerous historical personages and momentous events. Nowadays, the castle houses not only the district administration of northern Saxony but also a memorial centre and several exhibitions.

Highlights

Die Bären Bea und Benno schauen direkt in die Kamera — LRA/Stracke

The bear pit

The long tradition of keeping bears at Schloss Hartenfels began in 1425. Currently there are living the three brown bears Jette, Bea and Benno.

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Blick auf die hohle Spindel des Wendelstein, die Treppe windet sich darum wie eine Schnecke — Andreas Franke

The Big Spiral Staircase

The Big Spiral Staircase is unique in the history of architecture and was designed according to completely new structural principles.

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Blick in die Spiegelstube — Klemens Renner

The Mirror Room

At the top of the Big Spiral Staircase is the ‘Mirror Room’ (Spiegelstube), which keeps one of the rare examples of a surviving mural painted by the Wittenberg-based Cranach Workshop.

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Blick auf den Hausmannsturm von der Elbbrücke aus — LRA/Puschendorf

The Hausmannsturm

With its 163 steps, the tower known as the Hausmannsturm is also a fitness challenge. From the top, on the viewing plattform, you are rewarded with a unique panoramic view over the roofs of Torgau and the broad landscape of the River Elbe.

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Blick auf den reich verzierten Schönen Erker vom Schlosshof aus. — LRA/Schneider

The Electoral Chambers

With the aid of modern animation technology, Elector Johann Friedrich and his wife give visitors a personal guided tour through their private chambers in the exhibition „STANDFEST. BIBELFEST. TRINKFEST.“

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The Castle Chapel

The Castle Chapel was inaugerated by Martin Luther himself in 1544 and is regarded as the earliest building constructed specifically as a Protestant place of worship.

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Blick über Lavendelrabatten auf Flügel E — Klemens Renner

The rose garden

The rose garden offers comfortable little spaces in the shade in summer.

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Exhibitions

Permanent Exhibition

STEADFAST, PIOUS, AND HARD-DRINKING

With the aid of modern animation technology, Elector Johann Friedrich and his wife give visitors a personal guided tour through their private chambers and describe how they live.

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Permanent Exhibition

TORGAU. HOME OF THE RENAISSANCE AND REFORMATION

Precious objects from the Rüstkammer (Armoury) of the Dresden State Art Collections (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden), exhibited alongside works of art from the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) and the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts),…

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Permanent Exhibition

Lapidarium

Original objects and stone fragments stand as “silent witnesses” to the architectural history of Schloss Hartenfels, testifying to the skill and craftsmanship of sixteenth-century sculptors and masons.

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Special Exhibition
19.03. - 29.12.2024

FAIRYTALES

Napoleon meets Luther, Sleeping Beauty kisses the Great Staircase, a fat elector builds a dream palace for the Prussian military and bears are always lumbering across the scene – where else do so many VIPs from world history meet as at Hartenfels…

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International conference

Talking about the Torgau Castle Chapel

Since February 2024, the Torgau Castle Chapel has been listed as an individual entry on the German tentative list for UNESCO-World Heritage. The potential Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) is defined as:

The Torgau Castle Chapel in Hartenfels Castle, Saxony/Germany, is a prototype of Protestant church architecture, an authentic testimony to the Reformation and of outstanding art-historical, historical, and religious significance. Commissioned and built in 1543-44 by Duke Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous, Elector of Saxony, it is the first house of worship which was built according to the ideas and liturgical requirements of Protestant worship, dedicated by Martin Luther himself and thus became exemplary.

Here you will find all information about the conference and the program for download