15 Best Castles Near Dresden To Visit

Dresden Castle – also often called Dresden Royal Palace or the Residenzschloss – is by far the most visited Castle in this article. It’s one of the main Dresden landmarks, along with the Frauenkirche church and Zwinger Palace, and should be right near the top of any Dresden must see list.

The Castle dates back to around 1200, but the oldest surviving (restored) parts are from the 15^th century, including its main tower, the Haussmannsturm. It was the seat of the House of Wettin, Electors, then Kings, of Saxony from 1547 to 1918.

During this time it was remodelled in the Baroque style after a 1701 fire caused severe damage.  Elector Augustus the Strong – who shaped the Dresden we see today – went to work on the Castle, creating the Historic Green Vault (Historisches Grünes Gewölbe) to showcase some of his vast collection of treasures.  This later became one of the first public museums in Europe – and you can only begin to imagine how dazzled those early visitors would have been.

The Residenzschloss is home to several more Museums. The New Green Vault is more enjoyable than its older counterpart downstairs, and the State Apartments immerse you in the extravagant world of the Wettin dynasty.

There is also a fascinating Armoury, the Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs and the amazing Coin Cabinet.

You can also climb the Haussmannsturm between Easter and October, for superb views along the River Elbe and the Old Town (Altstadt). And in December and early January, the Stallhof (stables courtyard) plays host to the Dresden Medieval Christmas Market – possibly the best Christmas Market we have ever visited.

Good To Know: You need a separate ticket to enter the Historic Green Vault, which is tied to a specific time. The ticket for the rest of Dresden Royal Castle isn’t restricted to a certain time – just the day it’s booked for.

Getting there: The centre of Dresden is small and easily walkable, But trams 4, 8 and 9 stop outside Dresden Castle at Theaterplatz.

The three Elbe Castles near the suburb of Loschwitz were built in the 19^th century. The land on which they were built – and the vineyards below – were bought by James Ogilvy, 7^th Earl of Findlater around 1803.  He died in 1811, and over the following decades his estate was divided into three plots. On each of these, one of the famous ‘Elbe Castles’ was built.

The three Elbe Castles are best appreciated from a distance, either from on the River Elbe or from the viewpoint on the opposite bank in Blasewitz. This Dresden to Pillnitz river cruise takes you past the Elbe Castles and the Blue Wonder bridge at Loschwitz, It briefly stops outside the Riverside Palace at Pillnitz before returning to the centre of Dresden.

Not to be confused with the much older Albrechtsburg in Meissen, the Albrechtsberg was the first of the three Elbe Castles to be commissioned.

It was named after – and built by – Prince Albert (Albrecht) of Prussia. He had entered into a morganatic marriage with Rosalie von Rauch, so had to leave the Prussian royal court and essentially fend for himself. He did this in Albrechtsberg, this Neo-Classical palace overlooking the Elbe. After his death, it remained in his family until 1914.

Schloss Albrechtsberg is now home to a school for gastronomy and the hotel trade, and it’s also sometimes used to host events.

Getting there: Bus EV11 to Elbschlösser, from where you can access all three Elbe Castes.

Like Albrechtsberg, the middle of the three Elbe Castles was commissioned by Prince Albert of Prussia. It was originally known as Villa Stockhausen after its intended resident, Albert’s chamberlain Friedrich Ludwig Albert von Stockhausen-Immenhausen.

It was completed in 1853, shortly before the Albrechtsberg, and Albert lived there until his own pile next door was completed.

It’s now named after one of its later residents, Karl August Lingner, who made his fortune from the Odol mouthwash.  He also contributed to the foundation of the Dresden Hygiene Museum across the river.

He bequeathed the Castle to the city of Dresden, and one of the conditions of this was that a café or restaurant was established there. Over a century on, the Lingnerterrassen is a great place to enjoy a meal or drink overlooking the city.

Getting there: EV11 bus, as described above.

Don’t be misled by the name Schloss Pillnitz. There are three palaces, not a mere one, at this riverside park complex on the eastern outskirts of Dresden. 

The first two palaces were built by Augustus the Strong – the riverside Wasserpalais in 1720-21 and the Bergpalais (‘Hill Palace’) in 1722-23. Once these were completed he moved onto his next project, Schloss Moritzburg (see below) and didn’t spend much time in Pillnitz thereafter. Together these palaces now house the Museum of Decorative Arts from the Dresden State Art Collection.

The Neues Palais (New Palace) was built over a century later, and it now serves as the Castle Museum, focusing on the history of the palaces and gardens.

The park consists of a formal Baroque Garden, an 18^th-century English-style Garden and a Palm House. Various decorative buildings were also added, including a church in a vineyard and a fake ruin.

Getting there: Bus 63 from Dresden via Blasewitz and Loschwitz

Schloss Moritzburg is one of the most beautiful and iconic castles in Germany. Originally a hunting lodge, it was remodelled and expanded by Augustus the Strong in the 1720s. He turned it into the palace we see today, on an artificial island in a lake surrounded by forests, which became a royal game reserve.

Moritzburg Castle is a remarkable building. It’s also at the end (and bottom) of a long avenue from the village across the water. It seems enormous from the top of the hill, but as you approach the Schloss and see it from the same height, it becomes less imposing.

The Castle is immediately recognizable for its four round corner towers, each with an identical red cupola. Inside, be prepared for one of the most lavish palaces in Europe. Augustus the Strong (he of the famous Golden Horseman statue in Dresden) shot some of the deer whose antlers now hang in the Dining Room. But he also bought some of them in to augment his collection – which includes the heaviest red deer antler in the world.

Augustus also covered some of his walls with gilded leather, and more with eye-wateringly expensive Baroque leather tapestries. The Feather Room (Federzimmer) is adorned with tapestries made from hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of exotic birds’ feathers. He didn’t exactly hide his light under a bushel, Elector Augustus.

Later in the 18^th century, Frederick Augustus III remodelled a pavilion in the grounds of the Castle. It became the ornate, Chinese-style Little Pheasants’ Castle (Fasanenschlösschen), which overlooks another lake and Lighthouse.

Getting there: Bus 477 from Dresden-Neustadt station.

The Albrechtsburg dominates Meissen like Prague Castle dominates Prague. It’s not just a castle – it’s a full-blown citadel. And like its counterpart in Prague, the Albrechtsburg is also home to the city’s Cathedral, its twin spires rising high above the medieval streets below.

Meissen was the power base in this part of Saxony long before Dresden, with the Margravate of Meissen holding sway before the rise of the Electorate of Saxony.  Its origins go back to 929 AD, but the present building was begun in 1471, completed 50 years later.

The best way to describe it is a fortress-palace. It could be defended – especially in such a position on top of a hill overlooking the Elbe. But it was also the height of late medieval luxury, with every room adorned with a stone vaulted ceiling.

The Albrechtsburg was begun by Wettin brothers and co-rulers Albrecht and Ernst, who later split their territories between themselves. The Castle was named after a later Albrecht from the 17th century.

It was subsequently chosen by Augustus the Strong, the ultra-wealthy Elector of Saxony, to be the site of the Meissen porcelain factory. This was the first place in Europe to manufacture porcelain, and production continued there for over 200 years. It’s still made in a factory down the hill in the town.

Getting there: S-Bahn to Meissen-Altstadt, then on foot

This monster fortress above the River Elbe is one of the biggest castles in Germany. The strategic site was in use as early as 1233, when it was under the control of the Kingdom of Bohemia.

Much of what we see today was built in three later phases – in the late 16^th century, throughout the 17^th century then in the 18^th century. The result was a formidable fortress that became known as the Saxon Bastille.

Königstein in its completed state was never conquered. Its enormous walls were complemented by a 152-metre-deep well cut into the rock below so there was always a water supply. It was a place of refuge, and many of the artworks from the Old Masters Gallery and the rest of the Zwinger Palace were stored there during World War Two.

Königstein is now one of the main things to see in the Saxon Switzerland National Park.  You can travel there by train or on this paddle-steamer cruise from Dresden. With the latter you have the option of a return or one-way trip. The latter gives you the option of a visit to the Castle, and you can make your own way back to Dresden by train.

Hohnstein Castle is one of few surviving medieval castles near Dresden.  It’s now within the Saxon Switzerland National Park, and probably was built as a border fortress by the Margravate of Meissen to guard against Bohemian border incursions. 

It’s the only intact survivor of the Castles east of the Elbe in Saxon Switzerland and is a mightily impressive sight. It was built on a rocky spur, dominating the Polenz valley and the gorgeous half-timbered and Baroque village below.

It fell into Bohemian hands in 1353, but it later came into the hands of the Electorate of Saxony. At various times it was used as a hunting lodge, a prison and court. The buildings are probably from the 16^th and 17^th centuries.

In 1925 it became a youth hostel, but the Nazis used it to incarcerate political prisoners, and prisoners of war in the 1940s.  The GDR (East German) authorities again used it as a youth hostel, and it also housed a museum of the countryside.

Nowadays, you can visit the castle on a guided tour, stop by at its café or stay in the Hotel within the Castle – an amazing experience.

Getting there: S-Bahn to Pirna, then the 237 bus to the village.

One of the less-known castles close to Dresden, Schloss Weesenstein is one of the most surprising. Located 20 km (13 miles) from the city, in the Müglitz valley, it’s a seriously impressive Castle, its round tower believed to date back to around 1300.

It was probably built by the burgraves of Dohna in the 13^th century, serving as a border fortress against the Bohemians to the south.  The Margravate of Meissen took over the Castle in the early 15^th century, and passed the fiefdom to the local von Bünau family in 1406. They lived there until 1772.

During the 19^th century it became a royal residence, home to King John (Johann) of Saxony.  And during the Second World War it was used to store many treasures from the Dresden State Art Collections.

It’s one of the most rewarding castles near Dresden to visit, with a few different layers of history to uncover. You can explore the late medieval fortified cellars, the ornate Baroque Castle Chapel and the lavish 19th-century Royal Apartments.

Opening times: daily 10.00 am to 6.00 pm, Easter to end of October

Getting there: RB19 or RB72 to Weesenstein Bahnhof, then a 10-minute walk

This rock castle lies a few metres from the famous Bastei Bridge, high above the village of Rathen in the Saxon Switzerland National Park.

It’s one of several rock castles in the region, though they are more common across the border in the Czech Republic.

The Castle – believed to have been founded in the 13^th century – was largely built into the rock, rather than onto it. And it’s likely that any structures built there would have been wooden anyway.

You can’t see much of the rock castle from a distance (the Ferdinandstein viewpoint near the Bastei Bridge is the best vantage point). It’s only up close that the fortress becomes apparent, with rooms and passages cut into the rock, and some surviving wooden support beams.