Colditz Castle Colditz Castle is a Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig , Dresden and Chemnitz in the state of Saxony in Germany . It gained international fame as a prisoner - of - war camp during World War II for " incorrigible " Allied officers who had repeatedly escaped from other camps . The castle lies between the towns of Hartha and Grimma on a hill spur over the Zwickauer Mulde and had the first wildlife park in Germany . The original castle . In 1046 , Henry III of the Holy Roman Empire gave the burghers of Colditz permission to build the first documented settlement at the site . In 1083 , Henry IV urged Margrave Wiprecht of Groitzsch to develop the castle site , which Colditz accepted . In 1158 , Emperor Frederick Barbarossa made Thimo I " Lord of Colditz " , and major building works began . By 1200 , the town around the market was established . Forests , empty meadow s , and farmland were settled next to the pre - existing Slavic villages Zschetzsch , Zschadraß , Zollwitz , Terpitzsch and Koltzschen . Around that time the larger villages Hohnbach , Thierbaum , Ebersbach and Tautenhain also emerged . In the Middle Ages , the castle played an important role as a lookout post for the German Emperors and was the centre of the Reich territories of the Pleißenland ( anti - Meißen Pleiße - lands ) . In 1404 , the nearly 250 - year rule of the dynasty of the Lords of Colditz ended when Thimo VIII sold Colditz Castle for 15 , 000 silver marks to the Wettin ruler of the period in Saxony . As a result of family dynastic politics , the town of Colditz was incorporated into the Margraviate of Meißen . In 1430 , the Hussites attacked Colditz and set town and castle on fire . Around 1464 , renovation and new building work on the castle were carried out by Prince Ernest , who died in Colditz Castle in 1486 . Under Frederick the Wise and John the Gentle , Colditz was a royal residence of the electors of Saxony . The rebuilt castle . In 1504 , the servant Clemens the baker accidentally set Colditz on fire , and the town hall , church , castle and a large part of the town went up in flames . In 1506 , reconstruction began and new buildings were erected around the rear castle courtyard . In 1523 , the castle park was turned into one of the largest zoo s in Europe . In 1524 , rebuilding of the upper floors of the castle began . The castle was reconstructed in a fashion that corresponded to the way it was divided up — into the cellar , the royal house and the banqueting hall building . There is nothing more to be seen of the original fortified castle , where the present rear of the castle is located , but it is still possible to make out where the original divisions were ( the Old or Lower House , the Upper House and the Great House ) . The structure of the castle was changed during the long reign of the Elector Augustus of Saxony ( 1553 – 1586 ) , and the complex was reconstructed into a Renaissance style castle from 1577 to 1591 , including the portions that were still in the gothic architectural style . Architects Hans Irmisch and Peter Kummer supervised further restoration and rebuilding . Later , Lucas Cranach the Younger was commissioned as an artist in the castle . During this period the portal at what is known as the church house was created in 1584 , made of " Rochlitz Porphyr " ( rhyolite tuff ) and richly decorated in the mannerist style by Andreas Walther II . This dimension stone has been in use in architecture for over 1 , 000 years . It was at this time that both the interior and the exterior of " the Holy Trinity " castle chapel that links the cellar and electors ' house with one another were redesigned . Shortly thereafter the castle became an administrative centre for the Office of Colditz and a hunting lodge . In 1694 , its then - current holder , Augustus the Strong , began to expand it , resulting in a second courtyard and a total of 700 rooms . The modern castle . In the 19th century , the church space was rebuilt in the neo - classic architectural style , but its condition was allowed to deteriorate . The castle was used by Frederick Augustus III , Elector of Saxony as a workhouse to feed the poor , the ill , and persons under arrest . It served this purpose from 1803 to 1829 , when its workhouse function was taken over by an institution in Zwickau . In 1829 , the castle became a mental hospital for the " incurably insane " from Waldheim . In 1864 , a new hospital building was erected in the Gothic Revival style , on the ground where the stable s and working quarters had been previously located . It remained a mental institution until 1924 . For nearly 100 years , from 1829 to 1924 , Colditz was a sanitorium , generally reserved for the wealthy and the nobility of Germany . The castle thus functioned as a hospital during a long period of massive upheaval in Germany , from slightly after the Napoleonic Wars destroyed the Holy Roman Empire and created the German Confederation , throughout the lifespan of the North German Confederation , the complete reign of the German Empire , throughout the First World War , and until the beginnings of the Weimar Republic . Between 1914 and 1918 , the castle was home to both psychiatric and tuberculosis patients , 912 of whom died of malnutrition . The castle was home to several notable figures during its time as a mental institution , including Ludwig Schumann , the second youngest son of the famous composer Robert Schumann and Ernst Baumgarten , one of the original inventors of the airship . When the Nazis came to power in 1933 , they turned the castle into a political prison for communists , homosexuals , Jews and other undesirables . Starting in 1939 , allied prisoners were housed there . Use as POW camp . After the outbreak of World War II the castle was converted into a high security prisoner - of - war camp for officers who had become security or escape risks or who were regarded as particularly dangerous . Since the castle is situated on a rocky outcrop above the River Mulde , the Germans believed it to be an ideal site for a high security prison . The larger outer court known as the " Kommandantur , " had only two exits and housed a large German garrison . The prisoners lived in an adjacent courtyard in a 90 ft ( 27 m ) tall building . Outside , the flat terraces which surrounded the prisoners ' accommodation were constantly watched by armed sentries and surrounded by barbed wire . Although known as Colditz Castle to the locals , its official German designation was " Oflag IV - C " and it was under Wehrmacht control . Although it was considered a high security prison , it boasted one of the highest records of successful escape attempts . This could be owing to the general nature of the prisoners that were sent there ; most of them had attempted escape previously from other prisons and were transferred to Colditz because the Germans had thought the castle escape - proof . One lavish scheme even included a glider that was kept in a remote portion of the castle ' s attic , although it was never used because Germany surrendered to the Allies before the scheduled date of the planned escape . Captain Patrick R . Reid , who successfully escaped from Colditz in 1942 , wrote two detailed books about the living conditions and various escape attempts at Colditz from 1940 to 1945 : " The Colditz Story " and " The Latter Days at Colditz " . In the early 1970s , these were made into a BBC television series starring David McCallum , Edward Hardwicke and Robert Wagner . In April 1945 , US troops entered Colditz town and , after a two - day fight , captured the castle on 16 April . In May 1945 , the Soviet occupation of Colditz began . Following the Yalta Conference it became a part of East Germany . The Soviets turned Colditz Castle into a prison camp for local burglars and non - communists . Later , the castle was a home for the aged and nursing home , as well as a hospital and psychiatric clinic . For many years after the war , forgotten hiding places and tunnels were found by repairmen , including a radio room set up by the British POWs , which was then " lost " again only to be re - discovered some ten years later . The current castle . During 2006 and 2007 , the castle underwent a significant amount of refurbishment and restoration which was paid for by the state of Saxony . The castle walls were repainted to reflect the look of the castle pre World War II . With renovations largely completed , the castle now includes both a museum and guided tours showing some of the escape tunnels built by prisoners of the Oflag during World War II . The chapel , although accessible to visitors , is in disrepair . The outer courtyard and former German " Kommandantur " ( guard quarters ) have been converted into a youth hostel / hotel and the " Gesellschaft Schloss Colditz e . V . " ( the Colditz Castle historical society ) , founded in 1996 , has its offices in a portion of the administration building in the front castle court .