Join us at a place where legends were created, history was written and imposing works of art held the world in thrall – Albrechtsburg Castle in the romantic city of Meissen.


When you enter the castle's impressive high rooms with their pointed sandstone arches, memorable wall paintings and shining glass windows, it seems almost unbelievable that people once erected such massive and enduring buildings. But it was none other than the gifted master builder Arnold of Westphalia who planned and directed the construction of the monumental Albrechtsburg Castle between 1470 and 1480. With its representative administrative centre, large halls and distinguished living quarters, the building was originally intended as a residence for the ruling brothers Ernst and Albrecht von Wettin. However, Albrechtsburg Castle was never used for its intended purpose, as the residence of the sovereigns was moved to Dresden at short notice. Nevertheless, the design of Albrechtsburg Castle surpassed everything that had been built up to that point and thus went down in German architectural history as the first castle to be built.


But that was not the end of the impressive events at Albrechtsburg Castle. In 1709, the alchemist Böttger, in collaboration with the natural scientist Tschirnhaus, achieved the unbelievable –- after years of experimentation, they produced the long-awaited and coveted hard porcelain for the first time. Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, was in a frenzy, for he himself claimed to be addicted to the "maladie de porcelain" and wanted nothing more than to hold this white gold in his hands. The luxury item promised him power, wealth and prestige. So he quickly had to find a place that could be guarded well, where the secret of production could be kept from imitators. Albrechtsburg Castle on the Burgberg with its few entrances and ideal location on the Elbe was so perfect that Augustus the Strong solemnly opened Europe's first porcelain manufactory in a quadrilingual decree in 1710. For 153 years, behind the mighty walls of Albrechtsburg Castle, from the cellar to the attic, the coveted luxury porcelain goods were made by hand with great passion and the name MEISSEN was carried around the world.