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Schloss Kuckuckstein – history
Schloss Kuckuckstein stands above the little town of Liebstadt in the eastern Ore Mountains. The medieval castle was remodelled in the Gothic Revival style around 1800 and is a rare monument of early Romanticism – since 2021 a “Cultural Monument of National Value”. Since 2018, owners from the region have been bringing it back to life together with a supporters' association.
From the Dohnas to the Bünaus
When the castle was built is disputed – the palace's own website gives the year 930, while Wikipedia considers the second half of the 13th century more likely. It was destroyed in the Dohna Feud; afterwards the brothers Günther and Heinrich von Bünau received Liebstadt from the Margrave (in 1406 according to the palace, in 1410 according to Wikipedia). From 1453 the Bünaus rebuilt it, between 1519 and 1554 in the Renaissance style.
Romanticism, Novalis and Napoleon
From 1796 to 1802 Hans Georg von Carlowitz had the palace remodelled in Gothic Revival style, with the sun, moon and stars on the vaulted ceilings. Under Carl Adolf von Carlowitz it became a meeting place of the Romantics: the poet Novalis was a guest in 1798, and around 1800 a Masonic lodge was set up with mysterious paintings. On 9 September 1813 Napoleon spent the night in the palace – the master of the house, incidentally, was on the other side and entered Russian service.
Magic and fairy-tale film
The name “Kuckuckstein” – Cuckoo Rock – first appears only in 1791, and where it comes from is unclear; in the Middle Ages the cuckoo was still called a “Gauch”. From 1985 to 1994 East German television filmed the programme “Zauber auf Schloß Kuckuckstein” (“Magic at Kuckuckstein Castle”) here with Peter Kersten, and in 2012 the palace was the backdrop for the fairy-tale film “Schneeweißchen und Rosenrot” (“Snow-White and Rose-Red”).
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As of: 09/2026
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