Winter break over - Saxony's smallest castle opens

The Moritzburg Fasanenschlösschen is ready to welcome visitors again after a six-month winter break. The start of the season will be celebrated on Thursday with a May punch and music, according to Saxony's palace administration. The picturesque building, which is part of the Moritzburg hunting lodge grounds, is considered the last castle in the Free State to have been preserved in its original rococo style. The antechamber, study, living room and bedroom as well as a dining room are now accessible again until the beginning of November - and unique wall coverings made of feathers, straw, pearls and embroidery can once again be admired.

Baroque Prince Augustus the Strong (1670-1733) had created the grounds around his hunting lodge, including a pheasantry for breeding hunting pheasants for the royal table. The summer palace was only added later. The unique building with a floor area of 13.4 x 13.4 meters stands in the middle of the pheasant garden with a miniature harbour and lighthouse and was once the backdrop for lavish parties for the nobility.

Weddings at the Fasanenschlösschen

The "paradise in a nutshell" can be visited on guided tours with a maximum of ten participants, sometimes including a climb up the lighthouse. And every first Friday and Saturday from May to September, the architectural gem is also a branch of the registry office. Since 2011, around 370 couples have said "I do" in front of this special backdrop.