Completed 23rd November 2024
The Albrechtsburg in Meissen, Germany
A limited edition by Schlösserland Sachsen
400 jigsaw puzzles only * manufactured by puzzlefabrik
In 929, King Henry I built a wooden fortification on a rock above the Elbe. The Margrave ruled over the entire Mark Meissen, which went down in history as the “Cradle of Saxony”.
Between 1471 and 1524, the brothers Ernst and Albrecht von Wettin, who ruled jointly in Saxony, commissioned the construction of a late Gothic castle: Albrechtsburg. This made it less of a defensive structure and more of a castle - the first in German architectural history.
Due to the steep slope of the Elbe, the basement had to be built over two floors, followed by the first floor and three upper floors. The ingenious way in which light was directed through curtain arch windows and the cell vaults used throughout the castle were an architectural innovation. A masterpiece of staircase construction is the Great Spiral Staircase, a staircase of curved steps that wind around a filigree spindle.
Augustus the Strong made active use of Albrechtsburg Castle again in 1710 - as Europe's first porcelain manufactory. Porcelain was produced at Albrechtsburg Castle for 153 years until the production facility disappeared from the Gothic rooms in 1863. Extensive restoration work was carried out to restore the original Gothic appearance and eliminate the massive damage caused by its use as a manufactory.
Additional money from the reparations paid by France for the Franco-Prussian War then made the new artistic design of the castle possible. From 1873 onwards, murals were painted, mainly depicting historical events of the castle, the Mark Meissen, the Wettins and the creation of the ‘White Gold’.
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