Editing Colditz Castle

{{Short description|Renaissance castle in Colditz, Saxony, Germany}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=May 2011}}
{{Infobox building
| name                 = Colditz Castle
| native_name          = Schloss Colditz
| former_names         =
| alternate_names      =
| image                = Colditz Castle 2011 b.jpg
| alt                  = 
| caption              = Castle Colditz in 2011
| map_type             = Germany
| map_alt              = 
| map_caption          = 
| altitude             = 
| building_type        = 
| architectural_style  = [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]]
| structural_system    = 
| cost                 =
| client               = [[Augustus, Elector of Saxony|Augustus of Saxony]]
| owner                = [[State Palaces, Castles and Gardens of Saxony]]
| current_tenants      = 
| landlord             = 
| location             = 
| address              = 
| location_town        = [[Colditz]]
| location_country     = [[Germany]]
| coordinates          = {{coord|51.1310|12.8074|type:landmark_region:DE-SN|display=inline,title}}
| start_date           = 
| completion_date      = 
| inauguration_date    = 
| renovation_date      = 
| height               = 
| floor_count          = 
| floor_area           = 
| main_contractor      = 
| architect            = {{Interlanguage link multi|Hans Irmisch|de}}<br />Peter Kummer
| architecture_firm    =
| structural_engineer  = 
| services_engineer    = 
| civil_engineer       = 
| awards               =
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}}
[[File:Colditz Castle 1828 by Ernst Ferdinand Oehme, Albertinum, Dresden.jpg|thumb|Colditz Castle 1828 by [[Ernst Ferdinand Oehme]], [[Albertinum]], Dresden]]
'''Colditz Castle''' (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] [[castle]] in the town of [[Colditz]] near [[Leipzig]], [[Dresden]] and [[Chemnitz]] in the [[States of Germany|state]] of [[Saxony]] in [[Germany]]. The castle is between the towns of [[Hartha]] and [[Grimma]] on a [[hill spur]] over the river [[Zwickauer Mulde]], a tributary of the River Elbe. It had the first wildlife park in Germany when, during 1523, the castle park was converted into one of the largest [[menagerie]]s in Europe. 

The castle gained international fame as the site of [[Oflag IV-C]], a [[prisoner-of-war camp]] during [[World War II]] for "incorrigible" [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] officers who had repeatedly attempted to escape from other camps.

== Original castle ==
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[[File:Schloss colditz wappen b.jpg|thumb|Coat of arms of [[Augustus, Elector of Saxony|Augustus of Saxony]] and his wife [[Anne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony|Anne of Denmark]] over the gate to the outer courtyard]]
[[File:Entrance of Colditz Castle chapel b.jpg|thumb|The [[Mannerism|mannerist]] portal ([[Tuff#Rhyolitic tuff|rhyolitic tuff]]) of the church house carved by Andreas Walther II during 1584]]

In 1046, [[Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry III]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] gave the [[Burgher (social class)|burghers]] of Colditz permission to build the first documented settlement at the site. During 1083, [[Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry IV]] urged [[Margrave]] [[Wiprecht of Groitzsch]] to develop the castle site, which Colditz accepted. During 1158, [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Frederick Barbarossa]] made Thimo I "Lord of Colditz", and major building works began. By 1200, the town around the market was established. Forests, empty meadows, and farmland were settled next to the pre-existing [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] villages [[Großbothen|Zschetzsch]], [[Zschadraß]], Zollwitz, Terpitzsch and Koltzschen. Around that time the larger villages Hohnbach, [[Thierbaum]], [[Löbau-Zittau|Ebersbach]] and [[Saale-Holzland|Tautenhain]] also developed.

During the [[Middle Ages]], the castle was used as a lookout post for the [[List of German Kings and Emperors|German Emperors]] and was the hub of the [[Reich]] territories of the [[Altenburg|Pleissenland]] (anti-[[Meißen]] [[Altenburger Land|Pleiße-lands]]). During 1404, the nearly 250-year rule of the dynasty of the [[:de:Colditz_(Adelsgeschlecht)|Lords of Colditz]] ended when Thimo VIII sold Colditz Castle for 15,000 silver [[Mark (weight)|marks]] to the [[Wettin (dynasty)|Wettin]] ruler of the period in [[Saxony]].

As a result of family dynastic politics, the town of Colditz was incorporated into the [[Margraviate of Meissen]]. During 1430, the [[Hussites]] attacked Colditz and set town and castle on fire. Around 1464, renovation and new building work on the castle were done by order of [[Ernest, Elector of Saxony|Prince Ernest]], who died in Castle Colditz in 1486. During the reigns of Electors [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony|Frederick III the Wise]] and [[John, Elector of Saxony|John the Gentle]], Colditz was a royal residence of the [[Rulers of Saxony|electors of Saxony]].

== Periods of reconstruction and changes in use==

During 1504, the servant Clemens the baker accidentally set Colditz afire, and the town hall, church, castle and a large part of the town was burned. During 1506, reconstruction began and new buildings were erected around the rear castle courtyard. During 1523, the castle park was converted into one of the largest [[zoo]]s in Europe. During 1524, rebuilding of the upper floors of the castle began. The castle was reconstructed in a fashion that corresponded to the way it was divided-— into the cellar, the royal house and the banqueting hall building. There is nothing more to be seen of the original castle, where the present rear of the castle is located, but it is still possible to discern where the original divisions were (the Old or Lower House, the Upper House and the Great House).

The structure of the castle was changed during the long reign of the [[Prince-elector|Elector]] [[Augustus, Elector of Saxony|Augustus of Saxony]] (1553–86), and the complex was reconstructed into a [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance style]] castle from 1577 to 1591, including the portions that were still in the [[Gothic architecture|gothic architectural]] style. Architects {{Interlanguage link multi|Hans Irmisch|de}} and Peter Kummer supervised further restoration and rebuilding. Later, [[Lucas Cranach the Younger]] was commissioned as an artist in the castle.

During this period the portal at what is known as the church house was created during 1584, made of ''Rochlitz Porphyr'' ([[Tuff#Rhyolitic tuff|rhyolite tuff]]) and richly decorated in the [[Mannerism|mannerist]] style by Andreas Walther II. This [[dimension stone]] has been in use in architecture for more than 1,000 years. It was at this time that both the interior and the exterior of "the Holy Trinity" [[castle chapel]] that links the cellar and electors' house with one another were redesigned. Soon thereafter the castle became an administrative office for the Office of Colditz and a [[Jagdschloss|hunting lodge]]. During 1694, its then-current owner, King [[Augustus II of Poland|Augustus the Strong]] of Poland, began to expand it, resulting in a second courtyard and a total of 700 rooms.

During the 19th century, the church space was rebuilt in the [[Neoclassicism|neo-classic architectural]] style, but its condition was allowed to deteriorate. The castle was used by [[Frederick Augustus III, Elector of Saxony]] as a workhouse to feed the poor, the ill, and persons who had been arrested. It served this purpose from 1803 to 1829, when its workhouse function was assumed by an institution in [[Zwickau]]. During 1829, the castle became a [[mental hospital]] for the "incurably insane" from [[Waldheim, Saxony|Waldheim]]. During 1864, a new hospital building was erected in the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival style]], on the ground where the [[stable]]s and working quarters had been previously located. It remained a mental institution until 1924.

From 1829 to 1924, Colditz was a [[sanatorium]], generally reserved for the wealthy and the nobility of Germany. The castle thus functioned as a hospital during a long period of massive change in Germany, from slightly after the [[Napoleonic Wars]] destroyed the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and created the [[German Confederation]], throughout the lifespan of the [[North German Confederation]], the complete reign of the [[German Empire]], throughout the [[First World War]], and until the beginnings of the [[Weimar Republic]]. Between 1914 and 1918, the castle was home to both psychiatric and [[tuberculosis]] patients, 912 of whom died of [[malnutrition]]. The castle was home to several notable figures during its time as a mental institution, including Ludwig Schumann, the second youngest son of the composer [[Robert Schumann]], and {{Interlanguage link multi|Ernst Baumgarten|de|3=Georg Baumgarten (Luftschiffpionier)}}, one of the inventors of the [[airship]].

When the [[Nazism|Nazis]] gained power during 1933, they converted the castle into a political prison for [[Communism|communists]], [[homosexuality|homosexuals]], [[Jew]]s and other people they considered undesirable. Starting 1939,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Gliederungen/Kriegsgefangenenlager/Offizierslager-R.htm|title=Oflags|website=www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref> [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] prisoners were housed there.

== Use as POW camp ==
[[File:PicOf 4C LibBridge.jpg|thumb|Colditz Bridge in 1945 after the town had been occupied by the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]]]
[[File:PicOf 4C Colditz.jpg|thumb|Colditz Castle in April 1945; photo taken by a U.S. Army soldier]]
[[File:Originalglider.jpg|thumb|The only photograph of the original [[Colditz Cock]] glider taken on 15 April 1945 by [[Lee Carson]], American war correspondent assigned to the task force which liberated the castle]][[File:SCHLOSS COLDITZ1.jpg|thumb|Colditz Castle in 2011]]
{{Main|Oflag IV-C}}
After the outbreak of World War II, the castle was converted into a high security [[prisoner-of-war camp]] for officers who had become security or escape risks or who were regarded as particularly dangerous.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Baybutt|first1=Ron|last2=Lange|first2=Johannes|title=Colditz: The Great Escapes|date=1982|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=0316083941|page=[https://archive.org/details/colditzgreatesca00bayb/page/8 8]|url=https://archive.org/details/colditzgreatesca00bayb/page/8}}</ref><ref>
[[Pat Reid|P. R. Reid]] "The Latter Days at Colditz", chapter XXV</ref> Since the castle is situated on a rocky outcrop above the River [[Zwickauer Mulde]], the Germans believed it to be an ideal site for a high security prison.

The larger outer court in front of the ''Kommandantur'' (commander's offices) had only two exits and housed a large German garrison. The prisoners lived in an adjacent courtyard in a 90&nbsp;ft (27&nbsp;m) tall building. Outside, the flat [[Terrace (gardening)|terraces]] which surrounded the prisoners' accommodation were watched constantly by armed sentries and surrounded by [[barbed wire]]. The prison was named ''[[Oflag IV-C]]'' (officer prison camp 4C) and was operated by the [[Wehrmacht]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Colditz: The German Story |last=Eggers |first=Reinhold |author-link=Reinhold_Eggers |editor1-first=Howard |editor1-last=Gee |year=1961 |publisher=Robert Hale & Company |location=London |isbn=0-7091-3643-9 |pages=184 }}</ref>

While the camp was home to prisoners of war from many different countries, including Poland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Canada, in May 1943 Wehrmacht High Command decided to house only British and American officers. 
 
The camp's first British prisoners were the Laufen Six on 7 November 1940, who were transferred to Colditz after their first escape attempt from the [[Oflag VII-C|Laufen Camp]].

Although it was considered a high security prison, it had one of the [[List of attempts to escape Oflag IV-C|greatest records]] of [[Attempts to escape Oflag IV-C|successful escape attempts]]. This could be owing to the general nature of the prisoners that were sent there; most of them had attempted escape previously from other prisons and were transferred to Colditz because the Germans had thought the castle escape-proof.

One escape scheme even included a [[glider (aircraft)|glider]], the [[Colditz Cock]], that was built and kept in a remote portion of the castle's attic during the winter of 1944–45. The glider was never used, as the camp was liberated not long after its completion. After liberation, the glider was brought down from the hidden workshop to the attic below and assembled for the prisoners to see. Assigned to the task force that liberated the castle, American war correspondent [[Lee Carson]] entered Colditz on 15 April 1945 and took the only photograph of the glider completed in the attic.<ref name=AAM>{{cite web |url= https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/person/lee-carson |title=Lee Carson |publisher=American Air Museum in Britain |access-date=March 19, 2024 }}</ref> For some time after the war the glider was regarded as a [[tall tale]], as there was no solid proof that the glider had existed and Colditz was then in the [[Soviet occupation zone in Germany]]. Bill Goldfinch took home the drawings he had made while designing the glider, and when the single photograph finally surfaced the story was taken seriously.

During 1999, a full-sized [[replica]] of the glider was commissioned by [[Channel 4 Television]] in the UK and built by Southdown Aviation Ltd at [[Lasham Airfield]], closely following Goldfinch's drawings. Watched by several of the former prisoners of war who worked on the original, it was test-flown at [[RAF Odiham]] during 2000. The escape plan could have worked.<ref>South African R/C Modeller Issue 12. P. 16</ref> In 2012, Channel 4 commissioned another full-sized replica of the glider which was launched from the same roof as had been planned for the original. The unmanned radio-controlled replica made it across the river and landed in a meadow 180 metres below.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.windfallfilms.com/show/2132/escape-from-colditz.aspx|title=Escape from Colditz - Windfall Films|website=www.windfallfilms.com|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/news/escape-colditz|title=Escape from Colditz - Department of Engineering|website=www.eng.cam.ac.uk|date=6 August 2012|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref>

Captain [[Pat Reid]], who successfully escaped from Colditz in 1942, went on to write multiple works on the living conditions and various escape attempts at Colditz from 1940 to 1945: ''The Colditz Story'' and ''The Latter Days at Colditz''. In the early 1970s, he served as a technical consultant for a [[BBC]] television series, ''[[Colditz (1972 TV series)|Colditz]]'' (1972), featuring [[David McCallum]], [[Edward Hardwicke]] and [[Robert Wagner]], that focused on life at Colditz.

The escapes from Colditz, featured in many works of fiction or documentaries, popularized the unrealistic image of [[Prisoner-of-war escape|prisoner of war escapes]] as being common; this is sometimes referred to as the "Colditz Myth".<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=Bob |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/43087 |title=Prisoners of War: Europe: 1939-1956 |date=2022-05-05 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-187597-7 |language=en |doi=10.1093/oso/9780198840398.001.0001}}</ref>{{Rp|page=2}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=P. |first=MacKenzie, S. |date=2006-09-21 |title=The Colditz Myth: British and Commonwealth Prisoners of War in Nazi Germany |url=https://academic.oup.com/book/25603 |journal=OUP Academic |language=en |doi=10.1093/acprof:o}}</ref>

During the last days of the prison camp at Colditz, many of its prominent or high-ranking prisoners were transferred to Laufen by order of Himmler.  In April 1945, U.S. troops entered the town of Colditz and, after a two-day fight, captured the castle on 16 April 1945. In May 1945, the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] occupation of Colditz began. According to the agreement at the [[Yalta Conference]] it became a part of [[East Germany]]. The government turned Colditz Castle into a prison for local criminals. Later, the castle was a home for the aged and a [[nursing home]], as well as a hospital and psychiatric clinic. For many years after the war, forgotten hiding places and tunnels were found by repairmen, including a radio room established by the French POWs, which was then "lost" again to be rediscovered some twenty years later.

=== Notable occupants ===
* {{flagicon|GBR}} {{abbr|Gp Capt|Group Captain}} [[Douglas Bader]], [[Royal Air Force|RAF]] [[flying ace]], double leg amputee and subject of the documentary book and film ''[[Reach for the Sky]]''
* {{flagicon|GBR}} {{abbr|Capt|Captain}} [[Micky Burn]], [[No. 2 Commando]], journalist and writer
* {{flagicon|GBR}} {{abbr|Lt|Lieutenant}} [[Charles Hope, 3rd Marquess of Linlithgow|Charles Hope]], [[51st (Highland) Division]], 3rd Marquess of Linlithgow
* {{flagicon|GBR}} {{abbr|2Lt|Second lieutenant}} [[Desmond Llewelyn]], [[Royal Welch Fusiliers]], later known as the actor playing [[Q (James Bond)|Q]] in 17 ''[[James Bond]]'' films
* {{flagicon|GBR}} {{abbr|Lt|Lieutenant}} [[Airey Neave]], [[Royal Artillery]], later {{abbr|Lt Col|Lieutenant colonel}} and Conservative {{abbr|MP|Member of Parliament}}
* {{flagicon|GBR}} {{abbr|Lt Col|Lieutenant Colonel}} [[David Stirling]], founder of the [[Special Air Service]]
* {{flagicon|NZL}} {{abbr|Capt|Captain}} [[Charles Upham]] {{abbr|[[Victoria Cross|VC]]|Victoria Cross}} and [[medal bar|bar]], [[20th Battalion (New Zealand)|20th Battalion]], the only fighting soldier to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice.
* {{flagicon|GBR}} {{abbr|Capt|Captain}} [[Pat Reid]], [[Royal Army Service Corps]], one of the [[Oflag VII-C|Laufen Six]] then British escape officer at Colditz, before writing about his experiences
* {{flagicon|GBR}} {{abbr|Capt|Captain}} [[Kenneth Lockwood]], [[Royal West Surrey Regiment]], one of the [[Oflag VII-C|Laufen Six]] then part of the escape team at Colditz
* {{flagicon|USA}} {{abbr|Col|Colonel}} William Schaefer, U.S. Army
* {{flagicon|POL}} {{abbr|Gen|General}} [[Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski]], Head of Polish Underground Army
* {{flagicon|FRA}} {{abbr|Gen|General}} [[Jean Adolphe Louis Robert Flavigny|Jean Flavigny]], Notable Tank Commander from the Battle of France
* {{flagicon|Free France}} {{abbr|Gen|General}} [[Georges Bergé]], co-founder of the Special Air Service
* {{flagicon|CZE}} [[Flight lieutenant|Flt Lt]] [[Josef Bryks]], Czech pilot, participant of the [[Stalag Luft III|Great Escape]], before which tried to escape three times.

== Present ==
[[File:Colditz Castle2 CROPPED b.jpg|thumb|During 2005, the scaffolding was visible from town.]]
During 2006 and 2007, the castle underwent a significant amount of refurbishment and restoration which was paid for by the state of Saxony. The castle walls were repainted to recreate the appearance of the castle prior to World War II.

With renovations largely completed, the castle now includes both a museum and guided tours showing some of the escape tunnels built by prisoners of the Oflag during the war. The chapel has been restored to its prewar decoration, with glass panels inserted to the flag stone flooring to reveal an escape tunnel dug by French escapees.

The outer courtyard and former German ''Kommandantur'' (guard quarters) have been converted into a youth hostel / hotel and the ''Gesellschaft Schloss Colditz e.V.'' (the Colditz Castle historical society), founded during 1996, has its offices in a portion of the administration building in the front castle court.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
<!--spacing-->

;Bibliography
*Baybutt, Ron, and Johannes Lange. ''Colditz: The Great Escapes''. Boston: Little, Brown, 1982. {{ISBN|0316083941}}
*Booker, Michael. ''Collecting Colditz and Its Secrets''. London: Grub Street, 2005. {{ISBN|1-904943-08-X}} p.&nbsp;32
<!--*Narveson, Eric J. ''Prison Citadel'', pp. 36–37.  I can find no evidence for the existence of this book-->
*Reid, P. R. 1953. ''The Latter Days''. Hodder & Stoughton. Also as ''The Latter Days at Colditz'', 2003, Cassell Military Paperbacks. {{ISBN|978-1-4072-1466-5}}.
*Reid, Patrick. ''Colditz: The Full Story''. New York: St. Martin's, 1984. {{ISBN|0-312-00578-4}} pp.&nbsp;124, 259–263
*[[Georg Martin Schädlich|Schädlich, Georg Martin]], ''Tales from Colditz Castle''. Thomas Schädlich/Colditz Society, 2000. pp.&nbsp;4–6, 27, 61, 63, 91–101.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041023211609/http://www.schlosscolditz.com/Englisch/besondere.htm "What is special about Colditz Castle?"] from the Gesellschaft Schloss Colditz e.V. homepage Retrieved March 19, 2005.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040413092546/http://www.schlosscolditz.com/Englisch/historie.htm Colditzer Schlossgeschichte "Colditz Castle Story"] from the same homepage. Retrieved March 19, 2005.

;Further reading
{{Main|Bibliography of Colditz Castle}}

== External links ==
{{Commons}}
*[https://www.colditz-erleben.com/ Official Society Colditz Castle homepage]
*[https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2009/nov/23/secondworldwar-secret-photographs-online?picture=355948074 Detail Aerial Photograph] Detail from an aerial photograph of Colditz Castle in Saxony, Germany, on 10 April 1945 just three days before U.S. forces overran the area. Individual prisoners can be seen in the photograph
*[http://www.archiv-akh.de/filme#1549 Karl Höffkes German film archive] Newsreel from a private archive: Two minutes of film of the castle and prisoners during World War II starts at timestamp 10:14:37
*[https://sachsen.museum-digital.de/index.php?t=institution&instnr=92&recordlang=en Museum Digital: Schloss Colditz] with photos of Allied prisoners-of-war, art and other objects
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{{Colditz}}
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[[Category:Colditz Castle| ]]
[[Category:Colditz]]
[[Category:World War II prisoner-of-war camps in Germany]]
[[Category:Castles in Saxony]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Saxony]]
[[Category:Museums in Saxony]]
[[Category:World War II museums in Germany]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Leipzig (district)]]
[[Category:Royal residences in Saxony]]