The colossal round tower is all that remains of a once mighty castle complex high above the town. First mentioned in the mid-12th century, the castle remained in the possession of the Wettin dynasty until 1430, when it was sold to the aristocratic Vitzthum family.
For Camburg Castle, the sale proved a disaster. The Saxon Fratricidal War, which broke out shortly afterwards and lasted from 1446 to 1451, resulted in the complex being largely destroyed. On the castle hill, only the 37 metre donjon remained, looking down on the growing town over the following centuries.
In the early 20th century, an inn stood right at the foot of the donjon. It was demolished in the mid-1930s and replaced by the buildings you see there now. The tower was converted into a "youth castle" and used by the Hitler Youth and its counterpart, the League of German Girls. In the early years of the German Democratic Republic, the castle first housed a youth hostel, and then a student dormitory for trainees at the School for Scientific Apparatus Engineering run by Carl Zeiss Jena, which was a state-owned enterprise at the time.
After it was acquired and restored by the town of Camburg, the tower was re-opened to the public in the early 2000s. As you make your way up, you’ll come to information panels and art installations... and once you’ve climbed the 118 steep steps and find yourself 121 feet above ground level, you’ll be able to enjoy a breath-taking panoramic view of Camburg and the Saale valley.
All depictions © Keramik-Museum Bürgel
