The only preserved European passage castle

Liebstedt Castle was originally built in the 10th century. In 1331, the influential knightly family von Liebstedt handed over the moated castle to the Teutonic Knights, who established a commandery (administrative district) here.

The religious orders of chivalry were a combination of the monastic and chivalric spirit of the Middle Ages. They emerged during the crusades. The youngest order was the Teutonic Knights. Napoleon dissolved the order in 1809.

After the French withdrew, the castle served as a chamber estate of the royal house of Saxony. When Thuringia was founded in 1920, it became a state property, then the property of the University of Leipzig and later national property.

Liebstedt used to lie on an important old trade route (Kupferstraße). It connected Venice in the south with Hamburg in the north. Travelers had to pass directly through the interior of the castle when using the trade route.

The Ordensburg with its outer and core castle, surrounded by a triple moat rampart system that included the local area, is the only completely preserved crusader castle of the Order in Thuringia. This alone underlines its historical and architectural significance.

There has recently been a change of ownership. As a result, the castle is not currently used for tourism and is not open to the public.