Moritzburg: hunting and passion

The romantic forests and lakes of Moritzburg, just off the city boundaries of Dresden, were shaped
by the Saxon rulers’ passion for hunting. A tour of the Baroque palace of Moritzburg, which holds
a collection of antlers unparalleled in Europe, will convince you of that, but you needn’t
worry about any ‘hunter’s yarn’ from me!

I will show you the interior of the palace, starting with Augustus the Strong’s state bed,
made of well over one million colourful feathers, moving on to gilt leather wall coverings and furniture
and to Far Eastern and Meissen porcelain set on opulent festive tables – all of this created to show
off the Saxon court and as a fantastic setting for its glittering festivals.

These could never be extraordinary enough, and so the Fasanenschlösschen (Little Pheasant Palace),
known as ‘Paradise in a nutshell’, was built just a short walk from the mighty Baroque palace:
a small Rococo building which astounds visitors with its restored interior, including wall coverings
made of materials such as French silk or straw with beadwork. Some imagination is required
when walking outdoors down to the jetty with the eye-catching red lighthouse by the Großteich lake.
Glorious sea battles, and sea voyages from Europe to Asia, were re-enacted on canals leading up
to the exotic Little Pheasant Palace.

Tip: An excursion to Moritzburg can be combined with a trip to Radebeul on our “Lößnitzdackel”,
a narrow-gauge railway. Radebeul was the adopted home of Karl May, the literary father of Winnetou,
the chieftain of the Apaches. A side trip to the old village of Altkötzschenbroda is also possible.
Its typical regional farmsteads have been lovingly restored and house taverns, artists’ studios
and small individual shops.

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