Beneath a canopy of ancient trees lies Seifersdorf. It is a place where history whispers on the breeze. Seifersdorf. A place where the past intertwines seamlessly with the present.
Seifersdorf was first mentioned in 1335 as “Syffridisdorf”. The name means “Dorf eines Sigfrid”. It refers to a Lokatornamen. Seifersdorf got its name from its founder. Many villages nearby share this naming pattern.
Seifersdorf is part of the municipality of Wachau. It is located in the district of Bautzen in Saxony. Until 1993 Seifersdorf was an independent municipality. In 1994 Leppersdorf, Seifersdorf, and Wachau merged to form Wachau.
Imagine Seifersdorf centuries ago. People lived mainly from agriculture. They cultivated 13 Hufen. Each Hufen yielded 16 to 24 Scheffeln. In 1900, the village had a strip of fields. It was 839 hectares.
Seifersdorf sits on the old salt and glass road over the Steinberg.
The Seifersdorf manor has been around since 1454. Karl Friedrich Schinkel transformed it into Seifersdorf Castle between 1819 and 1823. He used the English Neo-Gothic style.
The families of Haugwitz, Grünrodt, and Brühl shaped Seifersdorf from 1460 to 1945. Their stories are linked to the castle and the Seifersdorf church. The old church had a special area for the Patronatsfamilie. The new building also has it.
The Haugwitz family came from Nossen around 1460. They were in debt. The Grünrodt family from Liptitz took over in 1585. Hans Georg von Grünrodt died without children in 1747. Heinrich von Brühl then acquired Seifersdorf. The Brühl family stayed until 1945.
The Seifersdorf church was built in 1604 by Wolff Dittrich I. von Grünrodt. A life-sized knight statue of him stands by the altar. People bring it a wreath every year for Kirchweih. The church is a burial site for the Grünrodt family. Dittrich von Grünrodt who came from Liptitz in 1586 is kneeling at the altar.
Hans Moritz von Brühl died in Seifersdorf in 1811. His family needed the vault. He and his wife Tina are buried in the church’s altar area. Carl von Brühl was buried next to them in 1837. He was the director of the royal theaters in Berlin.
Karl von Brühl-Renard and his wife Else funded the Stifterfenster in the church in 1892. The window shows their family crests. The castle was renovated at the same time.
Agnes von Brühl-Renard was the head of the church board until 1945. Her husband Karl founded the Kleinwachau epileptic institutes in 1889. He was the director until he died in 1923.
The Seifersdorf church community belongs to the Kirchspiel Radeberger Land.
Christina von Brühl created the Seifersdorfer Tal landscape garden from 1781. It has monuments for her family and friends. Carl von Brühl continued her work.
The Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz e. V. now owns the core area. The Seifersdorfer Thal e. V. maintains the landscape garden.
The village of Seifersdorf has always been a place of community. People invest many volunteer hours. In the 1970s, residents volunteered to clean the castle. In 1985, the fire department and other residents worked together to remove the mud from the palace pond and repair the enclosure wall.
Today the Förderverein Seifersdorfer Schloss e. V. makes sure that the castle stays open to the public. The Seifersdorfer Thal e. V. cares for the landscape garden. The Dorfclub Seifersdorf was formed in 2018. It grew out of the Jugendclub Seifersdorf.
So, as you stand here in Seifersdorf, remember its long story. It has evolved from a little village to a beautiful part of Wachau. It is filled with history, culture, and community spirit. Seifersdorf welcomes you to discover its appeal and embrace its past.