Castles & Palaces
Moritz Palace – a work of art with the Little Pheasant Castle on the side
Even the walk up to the castle is breathtaking. The stately building stands proudly on a man-made island in the middle of a little lake, which you approach via an avenue through a vast, idyllic park.
Sitting peacefully in the middle of a little lake, Moritzburg Palace was the countryside retreat of Elector Augustus the Strong, which he visited when he wanted a break from his residence in Dresden. Leather wallpaper and the feather room with its truly unique wall hangings made from natural and artificial feathers are testament to the extravagant tastes of the time. The Little Pheasant Castle in the park and the monumental Venus fountain were also built during that era and both are visually connected to Moritzburg Palace by an avenue spanning a length of 2.5 kilometres.
A dedicated harbour with a jetty and Saxony's only lighthouse provided the backdrop for reenactments of naval battles, which were a truly aristocratic pleasure in the age of absolutism. When the nobility needed to relax, they most likely headed out into the small palace gardens, created on the edge of the palace pond in the French style. The gardens are being carefully reconstructed at the moment based on original plans from 1740, which will complete the overall work of art more perfectly that anyone could ever have imagined.