Albrechtsburg is Germany’s oldest castle and was a trendsetter in it’s time! Even now, it is amazing to set eyes on. Albrechtsburg overlooks the city of Meissen and towers above the mighty Elbe river.
Albrechtsburg was incredible to tour! Although the audio tour gets a little long in the end, it was interesting learning so much about the castle and Germany’s history. In one room, we had to wear slippers to help preserve the original wood flooring, which was beautiful. 
Albrechtsburg was redecorated in the 19th century with murals depicting Saxon history, which were really neat to see as I heard about it. The first one pictured was the coronation of a king. The second one depicts the Duke kidnapping the two princes, while their nursemaid was trying to protect them. 
The Wettin brothers Ernst and Albrecht commissioned master builder Arnold von Westfalen to build the castle to be a sign of power and wealth. He succeeded and also set European standards, a trendsetter in terms of architecture, vaulting, window and staircase design, among other things.
The castle was built between 1472 and 1525 and is built in the late-Gothic style and was the first castle built solely as a residence. 
The Prince’s Chapel was very beautiful and lavishly painted. It was designed with six pillars, each to represent an aspect of God’s faithfulness. The room has five pillars and a spot for the believer to stand, becoming the sixth pillar. 
The ceilings are most amazing. Each room was painted differently; there was one room which wasn’t painted at all. It was quite stunning in it’s unpainted glory. 
Meissen porcelain was made inside this castle for 150 years, established in 1710 by King Augustus II the Strong; however, the production as making the castle literally fall apart, so the factory was moved to it’s own location in downtown Meissen in 1863. 
Even the walls in each room are painted with it’s own unique decoration. The windows were all made in either a diamond or circle cutouts. This was done so if a window broke only the broken pieces had to be replaced, not the whole window! 
The spiral staircase was one of my favorite features of the castle. This is the top of the stairs; and almost to the bottom, where they curve out instead of in; and looking into the center of the spiral from the bottom of the stairs.
“The Artist who does not conceive of a staircase as something fantastic is not an artist.”
– Gio Ponti 
Here is a link to watch a quick video about the castle.