Barockgarten Zabeltitz (Zabeltitz Baroque Garden)
The Barockgarten is a special example of mature baroque garden art. With its unique preserved original substance, it is one of the most important baroque parks in Saxony. From 1782 onwards, the garden was created in its present form on behalf of the Imperial Count of Wackerbarth by the 3rd Chief Architect Johann Christoph Knöffel. It is strictly symmetrical and regularly laid out with beautiful avenues of lime trees, accompanying hedges, pleasure groves, roundabouts, and sandstone sculptures.

The unique pond system is fed by water from the Große Röder river. At the end of the 18th century, Prince Xaver expanded the rear part of the grounds to include the “wilderness.” Today, the Barockgarten provides the perfect backdrop for weddings, romantic walks, and various celebrations and events. Anyone who wishes to do so can immortalize themselves by planting a donor tree. At selected locations in the garden, an information system provides visitors with interesting facts.

Palais (palace)
The Palais in its present form was created from a residential castle that had been rebuilt several times, on the site of which there was originally a moated castle to protect the salt road. Since 2015, the ground floor of the Palais has been open to the public again and houses the Zabeltitz Information Center, a permanent exhibition on the Barockgarten an atmospheric café, and restrooms. On the second floor, there is a registry office with a magnificent view of the mirror basin. The Palais offers the perfect setting for celebrations, conferences, and events.

Alte Schloss (Old Castle)
The Alte Schloss (Old Castle) was built in Renaissance style under Elector Christian I from 1588 to 1598. It originally served as a stable for horses and as accommodation for distinguished guests and their entourage during the grand electoral hunts in the formerly vast forests of the Schradenwald. The 84-meter-long Alte Schloss is completely preserved but not open to the public. Today, the building houses a medical center and the castle hall, which can be rented for events.

St.-Georgen-Kirche
A wooden village church in Zabeltitz was first mentioned in 1495. The construction of today's St. George's Church can be traced back to Knight Nickel Pflugk, a follower of Elector Moritz of Saxony. This church was built in 1580/81 in the late Gothic style. It survived all wars and the great fire of 1808 almost unscathed and is now the oldest preserved building in Zabeltitz.

In addition to the builders Nickel and Elisabeth Pflugk, Reichsgraf August Christoph von Wackerbarth, who was significant in the history of Zabeltitz, is also buried in the church. The sandstone tomb of the builders, which has served as an altar since 1839, and the baptismal font are works from the workshop of the Dresden sculptor Christoph Walther II. The church can be visited during the summer months.

Bauernmuseum
The Bauernmuseum is located in an old three-sided farmstead, which was built around 1810. It shows the hard life of a middle peasant family in the Großenhainer Pflege region at the beginning of the 20th century.
Numerous items from the farming past of the villages around Zabeltitz are on display. The farm includes the residential building with a cattle shed, the barn, and the outbuilding, as well as the garden and the apiary.

Naturlehrpfad (Nature trail)
In the 300-hectare “Röderauwald Zabeltitz” nature reserve, visitors will find interesting educational and overview boards about the individual representatives of the plant and animal world on a tour of the nature trail right next to the Baroque garden. On a hike to the Großer Gabelwehr along the Großer Röder, which winds its way through the riparian forest, with a little luck you can observe numerous rare and endangered animals such as ospreys, honey buzzards, kingfishers, bats, dragonflies, amphibians, woodpeckers, and many more.

Source: Zabeltitz-Information (Lutz Pfennig)
Photographies: Lutz Pfennig