Osterstein Castle appeared on the outskirts of Zwickau in the XIII century as afortification. At the beginning of the XV century it was badly damaged by fireand was finally demolished in 1407. Almost two centuries later a Renaissanceresidence was built in its place by order of the governor of SaxonyChristian I. The building started to be used as intended from 1590.
In the XVIII century a prison was established in the Osterstein Castle,which survived until 1962! A revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg was its most famousprisoner. After 1980, the castle began to crumble quickly, and wasreconstructed in 2006-2007. Today, the building houses a nursing home, however,everyone may enter the castle courtyard.