Torhaus Dölitz
Description
The Torhaus Dölitz is the structural remnants of an aristocratic residence, the Dölitz Castle in the village of Dölitz, which today belongs to Leipzig . Large parts of the Dölitz Castle and with it the gatehouse were built in the last third of the 17th century. The gatehouse contains a pewter figure museum whose collection, with around 100,000 pewter figures, is one of the three largest publicly accessible in the world.
The castle was acquired, renovated and rebuilt in 1636 by Georg Winckler (1582–1654), merchant in Leipzig and ancestor of the family. The gatehouse of the castle was built between 1670 and 1672 by Andreas von Winckler, a son of Georg Winckler.
During the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig , Dölitz Castle was a French headquarters and fiercely contested. Austrian troops tried several times to storm the facility, but were beaten back by the French until they retreated unhindered on the night of October 18-19, 1813. The gatehouse of the former Dölitz Castle is the last remaining building that played an important role in the course of the Battle of the Nations.