Exhibition in the barrel cellar of Magdalene’s Castle
The changing names of this building over the centuries – Brauhaus (Brewery), Proviant-Hauß (Provision House), Magdalenenburg, Kellerey (Cellar), Vorrathshaus (Storehouse) – suggest that it has a rich and varied history, with numerous renovations and alterations. The exhibition provides information about the building's use as a provision house and as an electoral lodge for the court and its guests. It also narrates the story of three giant wine barrels that were constructed in the cellar between 1623 and 1725 but each lasted only a few decades.
Between 1623 and 1723, huge wine casks with capacities of between 149,600 and 238,000 litres were built in the cellar of Magdalenenburg by order of the respective reigning electors.
The first giant wine cask
In 1623 Elector Johann Georg I commissioned the construction of the first giant wine cask in the upper cellar. It could be filled with 149,600 litres of wine and was the centre of court festivities. It was filled and emptied several times, but after a good five decades it began to leak.
The second giant wine cask
In 1678 Elector Johann Georg II commissioned a new, even larger barrel with a capacity of 223,500 litres. The first filling in 1680 lasted 16 weeks. In 1699, the wooden barrel was filled a second time after being repaired. In the dampness of the cellar vault, the second wine barrel also decayed relatively quickly.
The third giant wine cask
In 1723 Augustus the Strong had an even larger barrel built according to plans by the architect Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann. In 1725 it was filled with 238,600 litres of wine. After about 50 years, this barrel also became dilapidated and a smaller one was installed. After numerous further repairs, the giant barrel had to be demolished in 1819. Two carved ornamental elements (vine leaf) are the only relics left today. They are in the exhibition "In Lapide Regis" in the prank weir.
In the room, which was structurally altered at the beginning of the 19th century, the history of the former largest wine barrel in the world is brought to life through a modern installation of glass, steel, light, and music
On guided tours (bookable for groups only) you will go on a journey back in time to the 18th century, when the Saxon electors celebrated lavish parties on the Königstein and the legendary giant wine barrel in the Magdalenenburg was filled with hundreds of thousands of litres of wine.
