Dresden, Germany
c. 1200
Rathen, Germany
13th century
Leipzig, Germany
1670
Königstein, Germany
13th century
Meißen, Germany
10th century
Augustusburg, Germany
1568-1572
Pillnitz, Germany
1720
Colditz, Germany
c. 1158
Moritzburg, Germany
1542
Freiberg, Germany
1168/1566
Stolpen, Germany
c. 1100
Kriebstein, Germany
1384
Lichtenwalde, Germany
1722-1730
Pirna, Germany
1460
Dresden, Germany
1854
Rochlitz, Germany
10th century AD
Torgau, Germany
10th century
Oybin, Germany
13th century
Bautzen, Germany
16th century
Schwarzenberg, Germany
12th century
Střekov Castle (Schreckenstein) is perched atop a cliff above the River Elbe, near the city of Ústí nad Labem. It was built in 1316 for John of Luxembourg, the father of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, to guard an important trade route to Germany. After changing hands several times, the castle was acquired by the Lobkowicz family in 1563. Its strategic importance led to occupations by Imperial Habsburg, Saxon, and Swedish forces during the Thirty Years' War, as well as successive sieges by Austrian and Prussian armies during the Seven Years' War.
Although Střekov Castle was heavily damaged during those conflicts and abandoned as a military installation by the end of the 18th century, the 1800s saw many poets and artists visiting the castle, drawn by a new trend of interest in romantic ruins.