Festungsturm Peitz
How to find us:
- Street
- Festungsweg
- Zip, City
- 03185 Peitz
- Country
- Germany
- Phone
- 035601 31962
- Web
- https://tourismus.peitz.de/de/museum/festungsturm
Description
The fortress of Peitz lies in the historic core of the town of Peitz and occupies the area of today’s old town. A visible testament to the former complex is the distinctive fortress tower, also called the "Dicker Turm"; it rises to about 36 metres above the surroundings and dates back to the region’s early building phases.
Peitz first appears as a fortified place in a sales deed of 1301. In the following centuries sovereignty and political spheres of influence changed frequently: the Lausitz and thus Peitz were successively under Bavarian, Saxon and Bohemian overlordship, before Brandenburg expanded its claims and influence during the course of the 15th century. Warfare and defensive alliances shaped this era; military conflicts eventually resulted in territorial settlements that left Peitz as a Brandenburg exclave within Bohemian Lausitz.
Between 1559 and 1562 the actual fortress was constructed in response to the exclave’s exposed situation. The expansion included a citadel on the site of the old castle and extensive fortifications for the lower town. To supply building materials, existing brick structures were dismantled and large quantities of fired bricks and lime were brought in. The complex was provided with a wide moat, ramparts and palisades; at times hundreds to more than a thousand labourers were employed. After the works were completed the upper fortress and the fortified town formed a continuous defensive system.
In the centuries that followed Peitz repeatedly served as a place of refuge and a military retreat; sieges, temporary occupations and planned demolitions in the 18th century left traces. Despite partial dismantling, individual buildings survived, such as the tower and other relics of the fortress period.
Today the fortress tower houses a museum and, from its accessible viewing platform, offers extensive views over Peitz. The complex’s large ceremonial hall is used for concerts, celebrations and weddings, thus combining historic ambience with a contemporary cultural function.