The town of Altenburg, 35km/22mi south of Leipzig, a former ducal residence once notable for its fine buildings and art treasures, is now famed as the home of skat (a popular German card game which originated in this area).
In Borna, 18km/11mi north of Altenburg, is the 15th C St Catherine's Church, with a fine carved altar by Hans Witten. The Reichstor (Imperial Gate; 1753) is a relic of the town's old fortifications (museum).
Altenburg's Rote Spitzen - a Romanesque brick-built structure with one pointed and one curving tower - is a remnant of a 12th C church belonging to a house of Augustinian canons. The building now houses a collection of wood-carving ranging from medieval to Baroque.
In Windischleuba, 7km/4.5mi north of Altenburg, on the site of a 14th century moated castle, is a later Schloss (much rebuilt), once occupied by the poet and ballad-writer Börries von Münchhausen (1874-1945).
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Borna, Germany
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