DEUTSCHLAND	GERMANY
Bundesland: Freistaat Sachsen	Saxony
Landkreis: Mittelsachsen

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Augustusburg is situated at an elevation of 405 m at the slopes of the Schellenberg in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) region of Saxony. The earliest mention of the castle Schellenberg, which was situated at the site of the Augustusburg castle, dates from 1206. The village Schellenberg near the castle obtained the status of a town in 1564. The municipality of Schellenberg was renamed Augustusburg in 1899. The construction in 1911 of the cable railway attracted many tourists, especially from Chemnitz. In 1980 Augustusburg was officially recognized as a recreation town. In 1995 the municipality of Grünberg was merged with Augustusburg. Hennersdorf and Erdmannsdorf with Kunnersdorf followed in 1999.

Augustusburg castle [left] is located on the Schellenberg (516 m) at the site of the earlier Schellenberg castle, which had first been mentioned in 1206. The old castle came in possession of the Margraves of Meißen in 1324, but was destroyed by fires in 1528 and 1547. The new Augustusburg castle was built in 1568–1572 for Elector August of Saxony by the architect Hieronymus Lotter. The last of the Saxon Electors to visit the castle was Friedrich August II (King August III of Poland) in 1772. The last pieces of the furniture had been sold in 1800. In 1831 the castle was purchased by the Saxon state. In 1933 the castle became an academy for Nazi leaders. After World War II the castle was returned in 1952 to the Saxon castles, museums and parks administration. Today the castle is home of several museums, among them Europe's largest museum of motorbikes.