Stein Castle

Hartenstein, Germany, Germany

---

Stein Castle is a medieval hilltop fortress in Hartenstein, Saxony, Germany, constructed around 1200 on hornblende rock outcrops overlooking the Zwickauer Mulde River, featuring a Romanesque upper ward (Oberburg) with a round bergfried tower, palas great hall, and defensive walls that likely served as an outer bailey for nearby Hartenstein Castle.

First documented in 1233 under Meissen burgraves and owned by minor noble Heidenreich of Grünhain, its lower ward (Niederburg) expanded in the 14th-15th centuries with a pointed round tower, gaining independence as a baronial seat by 1701 before a 1732 fire prompted partial rebuilding.

Held by the Schönburg princes until 1945 expropriation, it now operates as a castle and local history museum since 1954 in its lower ward, celebrated for dramatic riverside location and hiking access.