Schloss Schlettau

Current exhibitions

About the museum

Its origins probably go back to the High Middle Ages, when a fortified outpost was built on the old salt road to Bohemia. In the 13th century, the lordship of Schlettau was established with a residential tower; in the 14th century, the Lords of Schönburg, who held the area as a Bohemian fief, began building a noble castle. In 1413 the Cistercian monastery of Grünhain acquired the lordship and completed the palace around 1500.

After the Reformation, Schlettau was a center of electoral hunts in the upper Ore Mountains for more than two centuries, and from 1634 to 1796 it was the seat of a chief forestry and game office. The manor house and the Reuterhaus were built during this period. In the 19th century the buildings housed a spinning mill and later an agricultural machinery factory; its owner, Carl Friedrich Naumann, had the palace restored between 1885 and 1909 and the Knights' Hall lavishly furnished. Since 1930 the complex has belonged to the town, which ran a museum in the palace until 1964.

By the early 1990s the ensemble was badly dilapidated. The Förderverein Schloss Schlettau (friends' association), founded in 1995, restored it together with the town by 2006 and now runs it as a museum and cultural venue. Visitors can see the museum of forest and game history, a working trimmings (Posamenten) demonstration workshop, a hunting room, the medieval wine cellar and exhibitions from the Erzgebirgische Landschaftskunst collection. The palace park, laid out as an English landscape garden, is dominated by a linden tree more than 750 years old.

Highlights

• Knights' Hall with timber-beam ceiling and carved paneling
• Trimmings demonstration workshop with a rare working bead ribbon loom
• Museum of forest and game history on electoral hunting
• Medieval wine cellar with stone vaulting
• Palace park with a linden tree more than 750 years old
• Digital palace tour for families included in admission

Permanent exhibitions

• Museum für Wald- und Wildgeschichte – The exhibition recalls the era when Schlettau was an electoral hunting and forestry center and presents native tree species, taxidermy specimens and the importance of the forest today.
• Posamentenschauwerkstatt – Working machines, some more than 100 years old, introduce the production of ribbons, braids and tassels, a traditional trade of the Ore Mountains.

Operated by

Förderverein Schloss Schlettau e. V.

Admission & discounts

The digital palace experience tour for families is included in the admission price.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Playground / play area
• Kids’ birthday parties

Dedicated children's program with treasure hunt, children's palace tours by day and by night, holiday program, and birthday parties. In the herb demonstration workshop, children make things such as salves or soaps themselves under guidance; in the palace chamber, you can build with Anker stone blocks. Digital palace tour for families included in admission. In the palace park there is a playground, pump track, and eagle owl and sheep enclosures.

Getting there & parking

Two charging stations for electric cars at the palace.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Restaurant & café in the palace (separate operator; closed Mon/Tue) with "Ritteressen" (knights' feast) in the historic wine cellar. Museum shop.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

The Knights' Hall is a wedding venue of the Scheibenberg registry office (April to October) and can be rented for conferences; other rooms are available for celebrations (restaurant up to 29 people).

Plan your visit