Stein Castle ( Saxony ) Stein Castle ( or " Burg und Schloss Stein " ) is Saxon castle located southeast of Zwickau in the village of " Stein " in the municipality of Hartenstein on the rocky banks of the Zwickauer Mulde in the east German state of Saxony . Location . Just above the castle is a weir on the River Mulde . The impounded river drove a mill with four large water wheel s . In 1788 its milling rights ( " Mahlzwang " ) were transferred from an older mill to this one . As a result of its exclusive milling rights , several mill tracks led to Stein . In 1912 the construction of a stately home , Wolfsbrunn House ( " Schloss Wolfsbrunn " ) , began on the opposite bank of the river . The ruins of Isenburg castle are located only two kilometres upstream . Towards Langenbach were once the villages of Ober - and Niederopritz , which used to belong to Stein Castle , but were probably destroyed during the Hussite Wars . History . The settlement of the Ore Mountains began in the 12th / 13th centuries , especially along the rivers . River crossings and religious orders ( " Niederlassungen " ) were protected by fortified sites . Along the Zwickauer Mulde river , numerous castles were built . Construction and layout . Construction of the castle was probably started around 1200 on a rock made of hornblende right on the southern banks of the Mulde . This oldest part of the site form the upper ward ( " Oberburg " ) today , consisting of a round " bergfried " , a " palas " , with its great hall , and defensive walls . Its architecture still has Romanesque influences . The fortifications probably also served as an outer ward of Hartenstein Castle which had not at that time been converted into a stately residence or " schloss " . The remaining elements of the building are younger . The pointed round tower in the southwest may have been erected in the 14th century ; the other parts of the lower ward ( " Niederburg " ) at the end of the 15th century . The " bergfried " of the upper ward were enhanced in the 16th century by an additional storey ( " Aufbau " ) . There used to be a ford by the castle and , later , a ferry as well as various wooden and stone bridges , some of which , in old drawings , are portrayed as covered . A bridge toll was still charged until 1924 . A more modern steel arch bridge ( " Stahlbogenbrücke " ) was blown up in 1945 by the SS ; since 1950 there has been a concrete bridge on the site . The predecessor of the old Stein Castle is located on the steep northern banks of the Zwickauer Mulde above the station . Northwest of the castle lies the remains of another very clearly visible fortification with a round mound ( diameter ca . 30 metres ) , inner ditch ( 10 to 12 metres wide , 2 metres deep ) , rampart ( ca . 5 m to 8 metres wide ) and an outer ditch . On the steep slope towards the south - southwest the ditches do not run at the same depth and width . The site was mostly referred to as a motte - and - bailey castle ( " Turmhügelburg " ) and the predecessor to Stein Castle , and was sometimes referred to as " Ur - Stein " ( " Ancient Stein " ) . More recent research discovered , however , that it is the remains of a medieval siegeworks . Vassals . In 1233 the castle was mentioned in the records for the first time : like the entire County of Hartenstein it came under the suzerainty of the burgraves of Meissen . Lord Heidenreich of Grünhain ( " Heidenricus miles de lapide " , " lapide " meaning " rock castle " ) is its first known owner and he was the member of a family of the lesser nobility . The farming villages of Langenbach and Wildbach were bound by socage service . The castellan s ( " Burgherren " ) of the 14th century were notorious robber baron s . One in particular , a certain " Conradus de lapide " , is accused in a 1320 document of numerous misdeeds . From 1406 the Schönburgs and their vassals were enfeoffed with the castle . The best known story by far revolves around " Kunz von Kaufungen " and the Kidnapping of the Saxon Princes in 1455 : Kunz is described as a worthy and righteous knight . However , he felt unfairly treated by his lord , Elector Frederick the Gentle and wanted compensation . So he kidnapped the children of the Elector , the princes Ernest and Albert with the help of two accomplices . Prince Ernest was hidden in a nearby cave , subsequently called the Prince ' s Cave . Kunz was caught and then beheaded in Freiburg on 14 July 1455 . In 1525 – at the time of the Great Peasants ' Revolt – the castle was besieged by its socage farmers . The farmers took advantage of the absence of their socage lord , " Ernest II of Schönburg " . When he returned , however , with his troops from the Battle of Frankenhausen , the siege came to an abrupt end . The farmers were severely punished and many were executed . When the Barony of Stein became independent of the County of Hartenstein the castle became a lordly residence in 1701 / 1702 . In 1732 a great fire destroyed the lower ward , which was partially rebuilt and subsequently renovated in 1846 . Recent history . The castle was owned by the aristocratic family of the Princes of Schönburg until their estate was confiscated in 1945 as part of the socialist land reform in East Germany . Since 1954 it has housed a castle and local history museum . In the newer part of the lower ward a convalescent home was established . In 1996 , following German reunification the castle and surrounding woods were reprivatized and the castle renovated . It is , however , still partly accessible to the public and still houses a museum . Barony of Stein . The Barony of Stein became independent of the County of Hartenstein in 1701 / 1702 , when the castle became the seat of the barony . The barony contained the following villages : In 1740 the House of Wettin agreed a recess with the lords of Schönburg , by which the Schönburgs had to recognised the suzerainty of the Saxon royal house over the hitherto imperially immediate baronies of Waldenburg , Glauchau , Lichtenstein , Hartenstein ( the lesser county ) and Stein . The five recess lordship remained under Schönburg rule until 1878 . Thereafter they were fully integrated into the Kingdom of Saxony . The Barony of Stein and the lesser County of Hartenstein ( without the district of Lößnitz ) went to the " Amtshauptmannschaft " of Zwickau .