Discover Colditz

Colditz offers a range of options for planning your trip: castle history, historic collections, and forests and hiking landscapes. You can plan your stay around the places and topics that interest you most.

Castle History and Museums

The permanent exhibition at Colditz Castle explores the castle’s eventful history. It focuses on the escape attempts of Allied officers held there during the Second World War. It also covers the Renaissance period and the castle’s later use as a hospital.

Further cultural and historical topics can be explored at the Carpentry Museum at Schlossgasse 2 and at the birthplace of Johann David Köhler. The Carpentry Museum contains a complete, working carpentry workshop with equipment dating from 1908. The birthplace of Johann David Köhler presents an exhibition on the history of coins. Together, these offer distinct visitor interests: historic workshop technology and the history of coinage.

Wildlife Park and Forest Landscape

Colditz Wildlife Park was established around 500 years ago below the castle as a game enclosure. It was first mentioned in writing in 1523. The wildlife park is considered one of the oldest and most significant sites of its kind in Germany.

The Colditz Forest offers a different side of the landscape, covering more than 3,000 hectares. Streams, fens, mixed woodland and diverse vegetation shape the area. The wildlife park is a place with its own historical development, while the forest, with its larger area and varied landscape features, forms a broad natural area.

Circular Hike, Views and Trails

The Colditz circular hiking route passes Wasserschloss Podelwitz and the confluence of the Mulde rivers, and leads through the Colditz Forest. Its stops also include Colditz Castle and the historic wildlife park. Check current route conditions and access before setting out.

On Töpelsberg, the Heimatturm has a 21-metre-high viewing platform. Nearby Wasserschloss Podelwitz can be reached on foot through Thümmlitz Forest, by bicycle on the Mulde Cycle Route, or by canoe. Access conditions may vary depending on the route, so take this into account when planning.

The tourist offering includes a castle visit with HistoPad and a cultural and historical walk in the wildlife park. Check before your trip whether these activities are currently available. Guided city tours are also available; dates and booking arrangements may change, so check in advance. Canoe hire is one of the sporting activities in Colditz. Availability may change, so it is advisable to check before making plans.

Getting There and the Wider Region

By car, take the Grimma exit from the A14 and follow the B107 towards Colditz. Check road conditions and any temporary closures before travelling. Colditz’s dining scene is considered small, fine and traditional; individual businesses and their offerings may change.

In the wider Leipzig District destination, the Luther Trail in Saxony, a pilgrimage and hiking route, passes through Colditz and other places in Leipzig District, including Grimma, Trebsen, Wurzen, Neukieritzsch, Borna and Gnandstein. The cycle route network in Leipzig District includes two long-distance cycle routes, eleven regional main cycle routes and other themed routes. This regional perspective complements the Colditz circular hiking route with a broader framework for hiking and cycling trips.

When looking for a hotel in Colditz, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on during your stay: castle history and museums offer different starting points for planning your trip than hikes and the forest landscape.

Discover more destinations: Borsdorf, Geithain, Rötha, Pegau, Regis-Breitingen, Markkleeberg, Naunhof, Frohburg.

Go to the main travel overview: Leipzig District.