The founder and builder of the Reinsberg Castle is not known with certainty. However, the establishment of castle and village Reinsberg is probably due to a German nobleman named Reinhardt who had the castle built in order to protect an agricultural settlement. Already in 1197, the castle is recorded as the seat of a noble family when a member of the Reinsberg (Regensberg) family appears as a witness in a document. Their lordship did not endure for long, as they already lost major parts of their ancestral properties in the 14th century to the Schönberg family who acquired the remainder, together with the castle, in 1411. The castle remained a seat of the Schönberg family for more than 500 years. Part of the estate was a folwark in Krummenhennersdorf which was operated as a separate manor.
In the GDR, Reinsberg castle was a holiday hostel for employees of Kombinat Schwarze Pumpe, afterwards it passed into private property and was used as a hotel until 1995. It stands currently (2019) empty. The park remains accessible to visitors on foot. A local initiative has formed to save the building from ruin. The adjacent bathing park has been the open-air swimming pool for Reinsberg since 1978. The hiking trail Grabentour passes in its immediate vicinity.
The steep slope towards Bobritzsch river is a likely reason for the choice of the site for a castle-like fortification. The unprotected eastern side of the castle is defended by a moat which could only be crossed on a drawbridge. The castle was crowned by a substantial tower.
References:
The stone church of Gamla Uppsala, built over the pagan temple, dates from the early 12th century. Due to fire and renovations, the present church is only a remnant of the original cathedral.
Before the arrival of Christianity in Sweden, Gamla Uppsala was the seat of Swedish kings and a ceremonial site known all over northern Europe. The settlement was home to royal palaces, a royal burial ground, and a great pagan temple. The Uppsala temple, which was described in detail by Adam of Bremen in the 1070s, housed wooden statues of the Norse gods Odin, Thor and Freyr. A golden chain hung across its gables and the inside was richly decorated with gold. The temple had priests, who sacrificed to the gods according to the needs of the people.
The first Christian cathedral was probably built in the 11th century, but finished in the 12th century. The stone building may have been preceded by a wooden church and probably by the large pagan temple.