Water castle Klaffenbach, Water castle in Klaffenbach, Chemnitz, Germany
Water Castle Klaffenbach is a four-storey Renaissance water castle in the floodplain of the Würschnitz, not on a height above the river. Its façades are crowned by gables of differing heights with S-curved profiles, and a main tower rises above the roofs. Inside are exhibition rooms, a gallery café, a chapel with Romantic frescoes painted from 1860, and a Green Salon with classical frescoes.
Wolf Hünerkopf, a mint master from Annaberg, bought the villages of Neukirchen and Klaffenbach in 1543 and had the Renaissance water castle built in the Würschnitz floodplain. Around 1600 Dietrich von Taube acquired the estate and added the steep curved gables and main tower. The von Taube family sold it in 1819; from 1947 to 1989 it served as a Jugendwerkhof for girls, and it was restored from 1991 to 1995.
The castle's name comes from the village of Klaffenbach, while its historical name was Schloss Neukirchen. The chapel has been decorated with Romantic frescoes since 1860 and is used for weddings. The former top floor, once a granary, now hosts small theatrical performances, and the grounds hold seasonal markets and open-air concerts.
The site has parking spaces and accessible pathways for all visitors. A hotel and several restaurants are located on the grounds, and various halls can be used for events.
The legend of the walled-in maiden is told without documentary proof: a Klaffenbach lord, deep in debt from feasting and hunts, promised his daughter to the rich but ugly lord of Rabenstein. When she refused, her father had her walled into the castle tower. The tale is still recounted in Klaffenbach today.
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