In 1185 the Knights of Nuzzin were first mentioned as the owners of the Nossen castle. In 1315, the Bishop of Meissen acquired the castle. It was sold in 1436 to Altzella Monastery. Until the dissolution of the monastery in 1540, the castle remained a retreat for the abbot.
After the Reformation, theformer monastic property of Altzella became the Nossen Office. It was given its seat at Nossen Castle, which the Elector had converted from 1554 with the rubble from the monastery into a representative Renaissance castle. The west wing with the three round towers reminding us of the Moritzburg Castle towers originate from that time as well as the 'Giant Hall', parts of which part serve still today as venues for events. The castle has preserved its present shape since the end of the 17th century.
In 1630, the castle became the seat of the bailiff and served mainly administrative purposes unti the 19th century. It was the seat of the tax office as well as the judicial office with the court and dungeons. From the 19th century on, it became increasingly abandoned and was, among other purposes, used as a subsidiary of the Weildheim correctional institution, as a Saxon regional museum and for residential purposes.
Nossen Office was dissolved in 1945. The Regional Museum ectended to further rooms in the west wing. In 1993, the Free State of Saxony took the castle over merging it into one administrative unit with the Altzella Monastery. Since 1996, permanent and special exhibitions have presented the eventful history of the place and commemorate the almost forgotten nobility of Saxony.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.