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.
References:House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.
The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.