After years of planning and preparation, the urgently needed renovation of the listed Hohnstein Castle in Saxon Switzerland has begun. The ground-breaking ceremony was held in the castle garden on Wednesday. According to the town, it is investing more than four million euros from its own funds and subsidies in this first construction phase. The federal and state governments are helping to finance the total costs, which are estimated at 45 million euros, with subsidies.
Varying history
The Bohemian border fortress from the 13th century was later an electoral hunting lodge and official residence, courtroom, state correctional facility, protective and prison camp. When it was inaugurated as a youth castle in 1926, it was considered the largest and most beautiful in Germany with room for 800 overnight guests.
In 1933/34, a concentration camp for around 5,600 political prisoners was set up there by the National Socialists. From 1935, the facility was used by the Hitler Youth as a Reich Youth Hostel and was later used as a prisoner of war camp and refugee accommodation until it became a youth hostel again in 1949.
Expected to take six years to build
The castle, which also has an almost 100-year-old puppetry tradition and is popular with rock climbers, has been rebuilt, extended and repaired several times. Now a beauty treatment lasting several years is to be carried out during the ongoing operation of the facility, which is also considered a nationally important cultural monument - probably until 2030.
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