Plauen Castle was built around 1250 as the seat of the bailiffs of Plauen. From 1466 it served as the Electoral Saxon official seat, burned down in 1548, was rebuilt around 1670 as a secondary residence of Saxony-Zeitz , served again after 1718 as the Electoral Saxon official and court seat and from 1852 as a prison.
In April 1945, the large area was significantly destroyed by air raids, along with large parts of the old town. Cell tracts that were preserved continued to serve as a penal institution after the war and were only demolished in 2013. An archaeological excavation followed. In the future, the campus of the Plauen State Study Academy will be housed in new buildings on the premises , with the ruinous historical building fabric being preserved and partially rebuilt.
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.