Renaissance castle above the Mulde river and former prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV C – a museum on legendary escape attempts with the HistoPad tablet guide.
March 1, 2026 – November 30, 2026
In the vaulted cellar, 20 photographs by Robert Capa show the liberation of Leipzig in 1945, supplemented by photos from liberation day in Colditz; free admission, in cooperation with the Capa-Haus Leipzig.
Colditz Castle is first mentioned in records in 1046, when King Henry III gave it to his wife Agnes of Poitou. It was later administered by the lords of Colditz and passed to the House of Wettin in 1404. After fires in 1430 and 1504, Elector Frederick the Wise had the castle rebuilt in the Renaissance style from 1506; Lucas Cranach the Elder contributed to its decoration, and in 1523 the Tiergarten was laid out as a hunting ground. As a dower residence, Colditz enjoyed a final heyday under Electress Sophie of Brandenburg until 1622.
After the court moved out, the castle became a workhouse and, from 1829, a state institution for the mentally ill. In 1933/34 the Nazis set up one of the early concentration camps here; from 1938, 84 patients of the re-established psychiatric hospital were murdered, and a memorial has commemorated them since 2017.
Colditz became world-famous as the officers' prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV C (from 1939), which from 1940 served as a special camp for repeat escapees and prominent Allied officers. The many, often daring escape attempts – from tunnel digging to a secretly built glider – became famous through books such as “The Colditz Story”, films and a TV series. From 1946 to 1996 the castle served as a hospital and nursing home.
Today Colditz Castle belongs to the Staatliche Schlösser, Burgen und Gärten Sachsen gGmbH and, besides the museum, houses a youth hostel and the Landesmusikakademie (state music academy). Since April 2024 a new tour has led through partly unrestored rooms with a “lost place” atmosphere; the HistoPad tablet guide digitally brings the Renaissance era and the prisoner-of-war camp back to life.
| Adults | €12 |
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| Reduced | €10Trainees, university students, school students aged 17 and over, people doing voluntary or military service, people with severe disabilities, recipients of unemployment benefits, social assistance or asylum seeker benefits, holders of a social pass or the Saxon volunteer card (Sächsische Ehrenamtskarte), members of the Bundesverband deutscher Gästeführer (federal association of German tour guides) and the Verband deutscher Kunsthistoriker (association of German art historians) |
| Children & teens | €4.50Children aged 6 to 16 €4.50 including HistoPad (from March 20, 2027: €4); the price list gives no rate for younger children. The exhibition is recommended only from about age 10. |
| Seniors | –No senior discount listed. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €10companion free · Reduced admission for people with severe disabilities; companion with “B” marker admitted free. |
| Students & apprentices | €10Reduced admission for university students, trainees and school students aged 17 and over. |
| Groups (15+ people) | €10 per personGroups of 15 or more €10 per person including HistoPad; school classes €4.50 per person (from March 20, 2027: €4); one accompanying adult free per 10 students. |
| Families | –No family ticket; holders of the Landesfamilienpass Sachsen (Saxon family pass) are admitted free. |
All admission prices include the HistoPad tablet guide. Free admission (HistoPad optional, €3) including for holders of the schlösserlandKARTE, visitors on their birthday and holders of the Landesfamilienpass (Saxon family pass). Combination tickets (valid for 3 days): with Schloss Rochlitz €17 / reduced €15, with Burg Gnandstein €14 / reduced €12. Voluntary organ donation €1. The memorial installation in the cellar of the Saalhaus and the special exhibition “Capa in Colditz” are free. Guided tours, e.g. “1.000 Jahre Schlossgeschichte” (1,000 Years of Castle History) for 11 or more people €17 per person, “Legendäre Fluchten” (Legendary Escapes) including HistoPad for 8 or more people €25 per person.
Not accessible because of the historic building fabric: exhibition rooms have no elevator or ramp; only the museum shop and the castle courtyards are step-free; the castle chapel and rooms in the Fürstenhaus are reached via a few steps. HistoPad with a wheelchair mode (digital content from the upper floors available on the ground floor) and an audio mode; suitable for visitors with visual or hearing impairments. Low-barrier guided tour on request (not for wheelchair users). Three accessible parking spaces at the castle, no accessible restroom. Cobbled, uneven paths; tactile hands-on stations. Assistance dogs with documentation allowed.
Great for kids & families
Treasure hunt with the HistoPad (included in admission), tactile hands-on stations, family tour (about 1.5 hours) and children's programs for groups. Strollers cannot be taken into the exhibition and should ideally be left in the car. Baby changing table in the office, on request at the ticket desk.
Sportplatz · 10-min walk
Bus to Colditz, Sportplatz stop (about a 10-minute walk), e.g. line 619 from Grimma station or 613 from Bad Lausick; on-demand RufBus in the district of Leipzig
Free parking · 10-min walk to the entrance
Large free parking lot for cars, RVs and buses at Wettiner Ring (just under a 10-minute walk). A few car parking spaces right at the castle, including three accessible parking spaces (access via Fürstenweg/Tiergartenstraße). Other municipal parking lots 7–15 minutes' walk away.
No café in the museum; the museum shop sells regional drinks and ice cream, with restaurants in the old town (about 5 minutes on foot). Free lockers in the museum shop and entrance area. Dogs (except assistance dogs) are not allowed in the museum.
Up to 60 guests.
The Hofstube (up to 60 people, with a tiled stove and grand piano), the Große Gewölbetonne (large vaulted cellar, 40) and the Kleine Gewölbetonne (small vaulted cellar, 20) are available for conferences, celebrations, concerts and wedding ceremonies; weddings are organized by the Colditzer Stadt, Land, Schloss gGmbH. Further conference rooms in the youth hostel in the castle.
Inquiries & details| Guided tours | yes · approx. 2 hrs |
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| Audio guide | yes (DE, EN, FR, CS, PL, NL) |
| School programs | yes |
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