Wurzen is the birthplace of the German poet, painter and cabaret artist Joachim Ringelnatz.
We stayed there princely in the castle hotel.
Entrance to the castle hotel (reception and restaurant).
St. Mary's Cathedral, consecrated in 1114, is one of the five Saxon cathedrals and has the oldest building fabric of the cathedrals in Saxony. Together with Wurzen Castle, it was the residence of the bishops of Meissen from 1497 to 1581.
Today, St. Mary's Cathedral is used for church services, weddings and concerts.
When we arrive, preparations for a concert are taking place.
There are still free seats in the choir. But we decide to make a little tour of the city.
In addition, a dinner awaits us in the castle restaurant.
A quick look at the marketplace in the evening with Ringelnatz fountain.
This house with the interesting gables houses the town museum and tourist information. Tomorrow at 10:00 they open again, we would get the pilgrim stamp. But the pilgrim life looks different. At 10:00 we are already far away again.
The house is certainly the most beautiful town house in Wurzen. It was rebuilt in 1668 after the 30-year war in Renaissance style. Councilmen, mayors and merchants lived here.
This alley with "gas lanterns" leads uphill to the town church of St. Wenceslai.
The Evangelic Lutheran Church of St. Wenceslai stands on the Sperlingsberg. Its roof and the tower with the curved baroque dome continue to visibly characterize the townscape. A first church dates back to the middle of the 13th century. The present church was built at the beginning of the 16th century as a late Gothic hall church. The mighty square west tower still had a gable roof in 1628. In 1637 the church was almost completely destroyed. It was rebuilt between 1663 and 1673.
In 1689 the mighty tower received its baroque dome. The coffered ceiling from 1673 was repainted in 1926.
In the tower of the Wurzen city church, the city authorities commissioned the installation of a turret apartment. Until the year 1911, the turrets lived and worked with
their families in the turret apartment. The last Türmer family had 6 children!
In 1997, the Türmerwohnung was restored to a state worth seeing by many hard-working helpers. Who is not afraid of the steps, can visit it.
In 1721, Elector Friedrich August I had postal mile pillars erected throughout Electoral Saxony. In 1724, three pillars were then erected in Wurzen. One at the Eilenburg Gate, another in front of the Jacob Gate and a third at the Wenceslai Church.
A mandate of 1724 stipulated that anyone who damaged or overturned a column (which happened more frequently by then) was to be taken into fortress custody or otherwise severely punished.
As a rule, the columns measured 8 cubits (4.53m).
All three columns set in Wurzen were removed and smashed at the end of the 19th century. In 1977, however, the base of one of them was found. Thereupon, this post office milepost was elaborately reconstructed and reinstalled in 1984. Since then, this imposing contemporary witness, as a monument, can be found at its original installation site, the intersection Crostigall / Wenceslaigasse.
In Wurzen there is a Jakobsplatz with pilgrim's shell (picture) and the Jakobsgasse, in the immediate vicinity of which formerly stood a pilgrim's hospital, a Jakobskirche (St. James church) and a Jakobstor(St. James gate).
Wurzen Castle was built at the end of the 15th century as a bishop's residence and was the residence of the bishops of Meissen until 1581. On October 20, 1581, the last bishop abdicated. After that, the building was the seat of the Wurzen collegiate office until 1856.
On June 17, 2002 the Wedekind family bought the property, a year later on August 17, 2003 the gastronomic part (cellar and first floor of the main building) was completed, in August 2004 the hotel in the annex building (the Kornhaus) was opened with twelve double rooms and one single room. In total, Wurzen Castle covers 6,600 m² of land and 3,300 m² of spatial area.
Wurzen is considered the oldest castle in the German-speaking area and is the only Gothic bishop's castle with a restaurant and hotel. There are many Gothic net cell vaults in the castle. It has a wedding room (picture) and can thus be used as a branch of the Wurzen registry office.
In the wedding room, the gothic net cellular vault is particularly well accentuated.
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