Ortenburg

The hilltop castle complex overlooking the Spree, with the Sorbian Museum inside

Address Ortenburg 3, Bautzen

The Ortenburg sits at the highest point of the old town, a low stone fortress with origins in the 10th century and a long history as the seat of regional governors under successive rulers — Bohemian, Hungarian, Saxon. The complex now houses several institutions including the Sorbian Museum and the Saxon Higher Regional Court.

The castle's most striking feature is the Matthias Tower with its late-Gothic relief of Matthias Corvinus on horseback above the gate. The courtyards and ramparts can be walked at any time without a ticket, and the view from the western terrace down to the Spree and the Alte Wasserkunst is one of the best in town.

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The castle was rebuilt by Matthias Corvinus, the Hungarian king who briefly conquered Lusatia in the 1480s — a striking late-Gothic relief of him on horseback still adorns the main gate, the only surviving full-length contemporary portrait of him in Central Europe.