Baroque-style Moritzburg Castle is located in the German state of Saxony near the Saxon capital of Dresden. It was built between 1542 and 1546 and it served as a hunting lodge for Duke Moritz of Saxony. This was the favorite hunting area of the Saxon kings and electors.
The chapel of the castle, designed by the architect Wolf Caspar von Klengel in the 17th century, is one of the most impressive examples of the early Baroque style in Saxony.
At the end of the 18th century, the surroundings of the castle were further developed by Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, the great-grandson of Augustus II the Strong. He commissioned the building of the Little Pheasant Castle, which was built between 1770 and 1776. When the grounds were extended, many other rooms and buildings were added.
The new rooms and structures included a building for the storage of bird nets, the living quarters for Count Camillo Marcolini, and one of the largest Baroque fountains, the Well of Venus. The last resident of the castle was Prince Ernst Heinrich of Saxony, who was dispossessed by the Soviet administration in 1945.
The castle has seven halls and 200 rooms decorated by the best Saxon artists and craftsmen. The interior is furnished in baroque décor and one of the most important collections of its kind is that of red deer antlers. There are 71 trophies in the castle and some of them are 400 years old.
According to Wikipedia, among them is the heaviest red deer antler in the world, weighing 19.8 kilograms and spanning almost 2 meters. There is a porcelain quarter which houses examples of Chinese, Japanese, and Meissen porcelain. Eleven rooms are designed with 17th century painted leather wallpaper. Many of the furnishings are hunting-themed and there is also a feather room.
A park with gardens in French style was added to the castle in 1728, though these gardens were never fully completed because of the death of Augustus II the Strong.
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Rare plants were added to the gardens during the 19th century, giving the whole park a romantic atmosphere. Little Pheasant Castle and the nearby Well of Venus have situated 2.5 kilometers away from Moritzburg Castle. Many people come to visit the castle in the middle of its artificial lake. A remarkable building with four round towers, it has a completely symmetrical design.