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Schloss Colditz

Castles & palaces ·Colditz ·Closed
4.53.3K
Most reviewed in ColditzTravelers' Choice 2025
  • from EUR 12
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About

Schloss Colditz is a Renaissance castle on a porphyry rock above the Zwickauer Mulde in Colditz. During the Second World War, it held Allied officers who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other prisoner-of-war camps.

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Schloss Colditz

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What's on here

Guided Tour | Colditz Castle: Stories behind the Walls (English) Guided Tour | Colditz Castle: Stories behind the Walls (English) Tuesday · All day9.50 EUR Guided Tour | Colditz Castle: Stories behind the Walls (English) Guided Tour | Colditz Castle: Stories behind the Walls (English) Wednesday · All day9.50 EUR Guided Tour | Colditz Castle: Stories behind the Walls (English) Guided Tour | Colditz Castle: Stories behind the Walls (English) Thursday · All day9.50 EUR Familienfreundliche Schlossführung (deutsch) Familienfreundliche Schlossführung (deutsch) Saturday · All day3 EUR Schlossführung "1000 Jahre Schlossgeschichte" (deutsch) Schlossführung "1000 Jahre Schlossgeschichte" (deutsch) Saturday · All day3 EUR Sonderausstellung: "Capa in Colditz" - Bilder des Kriegsfotografen… Sonderausstellung: "Capa in Colditz" - Bilder des Kriegsfotografen… Until 30 Nov

Why go

  • The Colditz Cock glider, built secretly in the attic in winter 1944–45, was never flown before liberation.

Opening hours

Today10:00 – 18:00Show all
Monday10:00 – 17:00
Tuesday10:00 – 17:00
Wednesday10:00 – 17:00
Thursday10:00 – 17:00
Friday10:00 – 17:00
Saturday10:00 – 18:00
Sunday10:00 – 18:00

Know before you go

  • The permanent exhibition is free to enter.
  • Tickets are sold online through the castle’s website.

What's inside

  • Witness accounts recount the castle’s years as a hospital.
  • The chapel’s prewar decoration has been restored; glass floor panels reveal a tunnel dug by French prisoners.

Tips for your visit

  • Find the castle at Schlossgasse 1, 04680 Colditz.
  • A stone bridge built in 1584 connects the town-side gatehouse with the castle.
  • Enter the rear courtyard through the Gothic passage known as the Flüsterbogen.
  • For enquiries, call +49 34381 55530.

With kids

  • Children can take part in a tablet treasure hunt around the castle.
  • A ticket including HistoPad costs €4.50 for children aged 6–16.

Interesting facts2

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  1. Thirty-four officers escaped from inside the castle, including thirteen French and ten British officers.

    Château de Colditz - Wikipedia
  2. 1972

    The prisoners’ escape attempts inspired the television series Colditz, broadcast from 1972 to 1974.

    Château de Colditz - Wikipedia

Shorts

History

The castle served as a rulers’ seat, hunting lodge and widow’s residence. Around 1600, Sophia enlarged it with gardens and elaborate interiors.

  1. 1046Henry III gave Colditz residents permission to establish the first documented settlement at the site.
  2. 1158Emperor Frederick Barbarossa made Thimo I Lord of Colditz, and major building work began.
  3. 1404Thimo VIII sold the castle to a Wettin ruler, ending nearly 250 years of rule by the Lords of Colditz.
  4. 1430The Hussites attacked Colditz and set the town and castle on fire.
  5. 1504A fire started accidentally by baker Clemens burned the town hall, church, castle and much of the town.
Show all
  1. 1523A one-kilometre walled animal park beside the castle was documented on 26 August.
  2. 1577–1591The complex was rebuilt as a Renaissance castle under architects Hans Irmisch and Peter Kummer.
  3. 1694King Augustus the Strong began an expansion that added a second courtyard and brought the complex to 700 rooms.
  4. 1803–1829The castle served as a workhouse for poor and ill people and those who had been arrested.
  5. 1829–1924It was a psychiatric hospital. A Gothic Revival hospital building was added in 1864.
  6. 1914–1918Psychiatric and tuberculosis patients lived here; 912 died of malnutrition.
  7. 1933The Nazis made the castle a political prison for people they considered undesirable.
  8. 1939Allied prisoners began arriving at the castle.
  9. World War IIThe castle served as Oflag IV-C, a prisoner-of-war camp for Allied officers.
  10. 16 April 1945U.S. troops captured the castle after a two-day fight.
  11. 1946–1996The castle was used as a hospital until it closed in 1996.
  12. April 2024A new permanent exhibition on the castle’s history opened in the museum.

Sources: Colditz Castle - Wikipedia · Startseite | Schloss Colditz · Home | Schloss Colditz · Gästeservice | Schloss Colditz · Schloss Colditz - Wikipedia · Château de Colditz - Wikipedia · checked 30 Sep 2026

Where
Schlossgasse 1, Colditz

Plan from here: A day out →

Questions and answers

Why did the Germans consider Schloss Colditz suitable for a high-security prison?

Its rocky position above the Zwickauer Mulde was considered suitable.

Did the French tunnel escape from Schloss Colditz succeed?

No. Prisoners dug it for more than a year, from 1940 to 1942, but the Germans found it about three weeks before completion.

How did prisoners conceal tunnel work at Schloss Colditz?

The church organ masked the digging noises. The organ has not survived.

Which well-known prisoners were held at Schloss Colditz?

They included fighter pilot Douglas Bader, future James Bond actor Desmond Llewelyn and SAS founder David Stirling.

What other hidden spaces were discovered at Schloss Colditz?

Repairmen later found a radio room set up by French prisoners.

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