MORITZBURG CASTLE

Moritzburg Castle near Dresden, Saxony, Germany, May 21, 2024

After a nice hike with family in the area north of Dresden we stopped at Moritzburg Castle, a Baroque palace in the German state of Saxony. It was built from 1542 to 1546 and was extended several times. It was used as a hunting lodge and country seat by the dukes and emperors of Saxony over the years.

Six days after this photo was created the French President Emmanuel Macron visited Dresden and Moritzburg Castle together with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeyer. It put a smile in my face when I saw on the web that they posed with their wives for an official photo with the Minister President of Saxony Michael Kretschmer almost at the same spot where I took this picture of the beautiful castle. Well, they didn’t have such great rain clouds that made for a nice color contrast with the castle and its surrounding park…

Nikon Z6II, Nikkor Z 24-70, f/4 S,   @ 44mm, 1/800 s, f/8, ISO 200

CASTLE HOTEL

Althörnitz castle hotel, Saxony, Germany

I have nothing new worth to show or talk about in the blog today but some of my faithful followers have asked to see a little more from our recent trip to Germany. As mentioned before I pursued photography not very seriously this time, nevertheless a few clicks were made.

This is Schlosshotel Althörnitz (Althörnitz castle hotel) where we stayed for my mom’s 80th birthday celebration. It is located in the southeast corner of Germany, the tri-state area between Poland, Czech Republic, and Germany. Some of the rooms are in a modern addition to the castle, that has been greatly integrated into the old structure. The big trees on the right allowed me to keep it out of the frame, although the integration of the new part into the complex is one of the best I have ever seen. The castle lies in the foothills of the mountains to the south (Zittauer Gebirge) and its setting in an old park makes it an architectural jewel. The oldest part of the castle was built between 1651 and 1654. It had many different owners over the years and it opened as a hotel in 1996.