The Wiesenburg Castle is located in the Wiesenburg district of Wildenfels, on a hill overlooking the eastern shore of the Mulde river. The castle protects the bridge across the Mulde to Schönau and Wildenfels.
Today's castle arose out of a medieval castle, the construction of which probably began around the year 1200. The castle was first mentioned in a document dated 1251. The building was expanded in the 14th Century.
The only remains of the original castle are a part of the round keep, remnants of the castle wall, and a moat. Today's courtyard, with its timber construction and the octagonal gate tower, were developed when the castle was reconstructed in 1664 after the Thirty Years' War.
The first owners were the Vogts of Weida, who monitored the settling of the Kirchberg, Saxony basin and the Mulde area south-east of Zwickau. The inhabitants of more than twenty villages in the area had to pay socage to the castle, for example, all villages in the Rödel valley. Later, the castle ownership changed many times.
In 1412-1591 the castle was owned by the von der Planitz family1523 and during the German Peasants' War, the castle was sacked by the serfs.
1591 the city of Zwickau purchased the castle and the dominion. In 1618 the Elector of Saxony obtained them1663 castle and lordship of Wiesenburg was sold to Philip Louis of Holstein-Sonderburg. In 1724 the lordship was acquired by Augustus II the Strong. After 1990 the castle has been privately owned. It is not publicly accessible.
References:The Jan Hus Memorial stands at one end of Old Town Square. The huge monument depicts victorious Hussite warriors and Protestants who were forced into exile 200 years after Hus, and a young mother who symbolises national rebirth. The monument was so large that the sculptor designed and built his own villa and studio where the work could be carried out. It was unveiled in 1915 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Jan Hus' martyrdom. The memorial was designed by Ladislav Šaloun and paid for solely by public donations.
Born in 1369, Hus became an influential religious thinker, philosopher, and reformer in Prague. He was a key predecessor to the Protestant movement of the sixteenth century. In his works he criticized religious moral decay of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Czech patriot Hus believed that mass should be given in the vernacular, or local language, rather than in Latin. He was inspired by the teachings of John Wycliffe.