Page 119 - (DK Eyewitness) Back Roads Travel Guide - Germany

DRIVE 11: On the Trail of the Sun King 117

samples of which are on display in 4 Schloss Augustusburg
an exhibition room above. Drive back Several sights in one courtyard castle
to the B101, go beneath the viaduct make this 16th-century royal hunting
and then turn left at the roundabout. lodge (open daily) a family favourite.
Around a tight bend, turn right into Visitors can buy a combination ticket
the Altstadt and park at the Markt. to access a trio of museums: former
In Annaberg-Buchholz’s old town, banqueting chambers whose displays
grand town houses sug gest a place on hunting are upstaged by murals
of some importance. The richest of gambolling hares; displays of
silver seams in the area funded both vintage motorbikes; and the fairy-
its main square and St Annenkirche, tale carriages of Saxony’s rulers in
whose rough exte rior belies a beau- the old stables. Also of interest are
tiful inte rior. Notoriously super- the historic rooms of the Lindenhaus
stitious, miners hoped their lavish (tours daily) and a dungeon full of
outlay would find favour with grisly torture instruments. Displays
St Anne, the profession’s patron saint. of falconry staged by the drawbridge Above Pretty pastel-hued houses,
Prayers were said just before a shift offer a glimpse of the castle’s past Augustusburg village Centre left Sculptures
in a contem porary shaft, now (open daily). on the walls of Dom St Marien, Zwickau
accessed via a mining museum (open ª Continue north, following signs to Below Schloss Augustusburg, on its wooded
daily) opposite the church door. Flöha and join the B180 then the B173 perch above the town
ª Continue north on the B101 to Freiberg. Follow signs to Zentrum
and turn left on to the B95 towards and park on Schlossplatz.
Chemnitz. Turn left in central
Ehrenfriedersdorf towards 5 Freiberg
Greifensteine for the entrance. Historic and postcard-pretty, old
Freiberg is a delight. Having emerged
from World War II unscathed, the
main square, Obermarkt, crowded
by narrow 17th-century merchants’
houses, is a slice of bygone Germany.
The town’s name literally means EAT AND DRINK IN ERZGEBIRGE
“Free Mountain”, as the wealth from
silver mining was all tax-free. Silver Ratskeller moderate
also funded Freiberg’s architectural With its panelled dining room and
treasure, the late-Gothic Dom dishes such as Erzgebirge trout pan-
St Marien (tours daily), which has a fried in butter, this local institution is
a bastion of traditional dining.
sculpture of a miner ges tur ing up Obermarkt 16, 09599 Freiberg;
to its Tulip Pulpit (1505). A town 03731 221 51
and mining museum, Stadt-und Ratskeller Schneeberg moderate
3 Greifensteine Bergbaumuseum (closed Mon), As the name suggests, this restaurant
Around 300 million years ago, stands opposite the cathedral. is situated beneath the old town hall.
magma bubbling up through fissures ª Turn right from Schlossplatz It is good for both formal dining
in the Earth’s crust wore away the and then right again on to Leipziger and casual outdoor eating. The menu
offers several deer dishes as well as a
surround ing sand stone to leave these Strasse to find the B101 to Nossen, variety of pork options.
strange granite outcrops, which then Meissen. Park beside the river Markt 1, 08289 Schneeberg; 03772
appear unex pectedly in a pine forest at Zentrum. 224 84; www.ratskeller-schneeberg.de
like for tifications of a fantastic castle.
Walk around their bases before
ascending a walkway for a pano ramic
view. Long mined as a quarry by
locals, the rocks are put to better
use today as a natural amphitheatre
for musicals and opera in summer
(www.greifensteine.com).
ª Back in Ehrenfriedersdorf, turn
left at the T-junction and then right
towards Dreibach and Scharfenstein
to Zschopau. Drive through the town
centre to Waldkirchen and turn left to
Augustusburg; park below the Schloss.

116-117_175705_BR_GER.indd 117 18/07/16 12:15 pm