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Pictures of the Town of Colditz, and pictures of the Castle from the Town Of course, looking at pictures of the Castle in close-up may give you an impression of its size and beauty, but the really classic views are to be obtained from outside, from the town and its environs. Only from away from its walls can the brooding majesty of the castle be appreciated in its fulness, dominating the town and the skyline with its presence. Let's begin, then, with the real 'Classic' view of Colditz Castle, from the meadow on the opposite bank of the River Mulde to the west of the Castle:  Many of the most 'famous' exterior pictures of the Castle are taken from western and southern directions, because the northern and eastern aspects are mainly screened by trees. The journey to the Castle from the train, for most prisoners of war, would begin here. This is the town railway station, closed in 1997; the tracks are still in good repair [apart from the weeds], and it would not take much to get this part of town set up perhaps as a steam railway preservation line or something similar. This is the main station building:  The railway line runs roughly north and south - here are the views north and south respectively:   Walking down through the town to the river, the first glimpse of the Castle is seen from adjacent to some allotments:  The road crosses the River Mulde via the imaginatively named 'Mulde Bridge', formerly known as the 'Adolf Hitler Bridge'.  There is a spectacular view of the Castle from the Bridge. [Photo Credit: Melvyn R. Lawes]  Here is another beautiful view from just slightly downstream [North] from the bridge. [Photo Credit: Melvyn R. Lawes]  ...and then a view of the Castle from the path to the river bank:  We have already seen the 'classic' view of the Castle from the river bank; here is another view from just slightly downstream [north] of the position that the 'classic' view is taken from, and right on the edge of the river bank. The roofs to the left of the Castle have some interesting history in that the high attic above the Chapel [to the left of the black spike of the clock tower in the picture below] was where the Colditz Glider was made. The lower roof of the north gable of the Cellar house ['under' the clock tower as seen in this picture] was where the glider would have been launched from, and the touchdown point, where the glider would have landed had it ever been flown, is in the riverside meadow where I was standing when I took the picture.  After crossing the Mulde Bridge from the west, this building welcomes you to Colditz:  The inscription at the bottom right of the wall reads "Hochwasser 13 August 2002" referring to the date on which the Mulde flooded; this indicates the high water mark [hence Hochwasser]. We proceed along to the left of the house; this street is one of those along which the prisoners would have walked on their way from the railway station.  There are a couple of nice views of the Castle from various car-parks in the town:   The hub of the town is the Market Square - the Castle looms over this as well.   For more pictures of the town and Castle, visit the next page. Return to photos index page   |