Special exhibition 2023

In his idle hours, the old fortress commander Heinrich Adolph von Boblick, general of the infantry, liked to be taken in a chair on wheels to a stone table “behind the fire engine house” at the edge of the woods – near today’s Ammunition Store.

Since its construction in the Renaissance, Frederick’s Castle served, among others, as a summer house  for important guests. In the 19^th century, it changed into a sale of refreshments for all fortress visitors. They could buy drinks and souvenirs here. Afterwards, their fortress guide led them back to the exit.

Skittle was a popular pastime at Königstein hill. There are records of it already from the 18^th century – presumably an officers’ sport at the time. In the late 19^th century, there was a skittle alley for the common soldiers near the Ammunition Store.

The fortress never had an official playground for children. In the 19^th century, the fortress children were allowed to play on the “ball meadow” at the vineyard and at the Augustus Square. From 1898 to 1904, Lieutenant Colonel Theobald Emil Alfred Baron of Oer was commander of Königstein Fortress. His children had their own playground.

In World War I, imprisoned officers could no longer be enlisted for work. To busy themselves, they laid out tiny gardens at Königstein hill – but also in other prisoner of war camps. They delighted with flowers, but also served for self-supply.

Before Battery 8 was constructed, there were barracks here. West of them were small gardens laid out like terraces. One of them was given to the fortress prisoner Peter Aloysius Marquis d’Agdollo in the late 18^th century for his personal use.

In the court in front of today’s casemate restaurant was “Kreischen’s Rest”. Until 1762, a fortress inhabitant by the name of Kreisch(e) had made his favourite place under trees. Unfortunately, nothing else is known about him today.

Since 1888, the former butcher’s building has served as Officers’ Mess and restaurant. Formerly, strangers could only eat here with the commander’s permission. Later, both the building and its outdoor seating area had to be enlarged several times.

Already in the 17^th century, small gardens were laid out in front of the Old Barracks. They were allocated to the soldiers‘ flats in the building. Over time, the plots changed due to merging and swaps. In the 19^th century, most inhabitants of the barracks were fortress officials. The garden served for their self-subsistence, but also for leisure activities.

According to the legend, the artillerist Johann Christian Zobel (1685 – 1754) often sat here, knitting long woollen socks. At least since 1723, Zobel was a cannoneer at the fortress and guarded this wall section. That was very uneventful in peacetimes, obviously: So Zobel pursued his needlework and, thus, gained a small additional income. Being a widower, he had to provide for several children.

Today, this part of the rampart run is still called by his name.

In 1783, an earth wall was constructed for the protection of the church and Magdalene’s Castle. Commander Count Friedrich Christoph zu Solms und Tecklenburg had wine planted on its south side. Under the fortress’ rough climate conditions, he may hardly have seriously intended to grow wine. In 1886, the civil fortress prisoner Arthur Haupt also reported that the grapes were no treat at all: “His Excellency’s vineyard was often visited, but I can assure you that [the grapes] were awfully acidic.”
In the late 1880s, the vineyard merged in Battery Wall 7.

The Saxon electors and kings visited the fortress on a more or less regular basis. In 1849, King Frederick Augustus II escaped to Königstein hill from the May Uprising in Dresden. In his memoirs, his brother John talks about a walk to the King’s Nose in the morning after the dramatic escape: “The entire Elbe valley was filled with a white fog like freshly laundered wool, and the individual rocks loomed out of it like islands, while the most beautiful blue sky was above us.”

In good weather, the fortress inhabitants enjoyed the beautiful view of Lilienstein hill and the Elbe valley. They established their own favourite places in different parts of the fortress.

In 1724, a gunpowder store was built here and was later used as an artillery laboratory. In 1878/79, it was converted into a chapel to spare the Catholic inhabitants long ways to Sunday Mass. The chapel at the end of the fortress wood was also a popular destination and resting place for walkers.

Numerous fortress inhabitants found rest and seclusion in the fortress wood. In 1846, the three military prisoners First Lieutenant Franz Baron von Uckermann, Lieutenant Hugo Eugen von Wolfersdorf, and Cavalry Captain Ottomar Saladin Iscador Islami de Zadora von Paschkowski each served one to seven months fortress detention for duel or “excess”. They made up their favourite place here: the “criminals’ bench”.

There was little room for sports activities at the fortress. In 1898, the Gunpowder Store no. 3 in the middle of the fortress wood was removed. Thus, the inhabitants used the resulting free space as a gymnastics area and tennis court.