Museum Schloss Grillenburg

Former hunting lodge in the Tharandt Forest with the former Museum of the Forest; currently not accessible from inside, renovation until 2029.

Temporarily closed

Directions

Temporarily closed (expected until 2029). The castle cannot be visited from inside. It is being renovated until 2029 and converted into a science and conference center of TU Dresden; an exhibition is planned in the Neues Jägerhaus.

About the museum

Grillenburg Hunting Lodge in the Tharandt Forest goes back to an electoral hunting complex of the 16th century; the princely residence was completed in 1554. What remains of it is essentially the Schösserei (bailiff's house), which was converted into a royal hunting lodge in 1855. For centuries forestry and hunting authorities were based here. Later the house was used as a café and inn, and between 1936 and 1945 it was converted into the Sächsischer Jägerhof (Saxon hunters' court).

After 1945 the Technische Hochschule Dresden, later TU Dresden, used the castle for forestry studies and opened a forestry and hunting teaching display in 1966. This became the Museum des Waldes in 2004, which was run by the Akademie der Sächsischen Landesstiftung Natur und Umwelt. Because of necessary construction work, the academy moved out in 2009. Since then the castle has largely stood empty and cannot be visited from inside.

On September 9, 2026, the official start of the renovation was marked. By 2029 the castle is to become a science and conference center of TU Dresden. The Neues Jägerhaus and the historic garden grounds will also be restored, and an exhibition is planned in the Neues Jägerhaus.