Colditz Webcam – Saxony’s Castle Town from Above

The Colditz Webcam looks down on the old town of Colditz in Saxony, Germany, from Colditz Castle, the Renaissance castle that held Allied officers as prisoners during World War II. It faces south-southwest over red tile and grey slate roofs to the Markt, the market square, about 200 meters (660 feet) away. At the left end of the square stands the town hall, easy to spot by its ornate gable and slender roof turret. Streets run off between the houses, and past the edge of town the view carries over woods and fields to a low ridge on the horizon. The trees between the roofs track the seasons, bare and grey in winter, full and green by late spring. The stream is presented by the castle together with Style Dach, a roofing firm based in Colditz.

About Colditz

Colditz is a small town of 8,209 people, counted at the end of 2025, in the Leipzig district of Saxony. It lies at about 156 meters (512 feet) above sea level on the Zwickauer Mulde, roughly 38 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of central Leipzig. A few kilometers north of the center, at Sermuth, the Zwickauer Mulde meets the Freiberger Mulde and the two continue as the Mulde. The town has burned badly twice, in a great fire in 1504 and again on 20 September 1750, when 130 houses and barns were lost. The Meissen porcelain manufactory has used Colditz clay since the early 18th century, and in the East German era the VEB Colditzer Porzellanwerk made tableware for Mitropa, the railway catering company.

The Markt fills the middle of the picture. The town hall on its southeastern edge is a Renaissance building from around 1540, restored between 1650 and 1657 after a fire. Its rendered facade carries richly shaped scroll gables, a portal and cornices under a saddle roof with a small turret, and it still houses the town administration.

Colditz Castle, where the camera is mounted, stands on a hill spur above the Zwickauer Mulde. Colditz is first documented in 1046, and the castle took its present form in a rebuilding from 1577 to 1591 under Elector Augustus of Saxony. From 1940 to 1945 it was Oflag IV-C, a camp for captured Allied officers: Polish, French, Belgian, Dutch, Canadian and British at first, and from May 1943 only British and American. It had one of the strongest records of successful escapes of the war. US troops took Colditz on 16 April 1945 after two days of fighting. Soviet forces then used the castle as a prison for local criminals, and it later served as a home for the aged, a nursing home, a hospital and a psychiatric clinic.

Weather and Climate in Colditz

Winters are cold, cloudy and often snowy. January averages a high of 3 C (37 F) and a low of -2 C (29 F), and snow can fall from late November into early March, with January the snowiest month. December is the cloudiest month, overcast or mostly cloudy about two thirds of the time, and the shortest day gives only 7 hours 53 minutes of daylight. On camera that means flat grey light over the roofs and, on the right days, snow across the square and the fields beyond.

Spring warms steadily, with April highs around 13 C (56 F) and lows near 4 C (40 F). July is the warmest month at about 23 C (74 F) by day and 14 C (57 F) at night, and also the wettest, with about 61 millimeters (2.4 inches) of rain. August has the clearest skies of the year, and around the longest day the sun is up for 16 hours 34 minutes, so the square stays lit late into the evening. October brings highs near 13 C (56 F) and lows of 6 C (43 F) as the trees around the old town change color.

Things to Do Near Colditz

The castle is the first stop. Its museum runs guided tours and shows a restored chapel and exhibits on the escape tunnels, and a youth hostel in the outer courtyard lets you stay inside the walls. Just east of the castle lies the Tiergarten, a wooded game park first recorded on 26 August 1523 and possibly the oldest in Germany, while the larger Colditzer Forst spreads west of town. Back on the Markt, the town hall’s scroll gables and portal are worth a close look.

Two small museums sit within the municipality: the local history museum in the moated castle at Podelwitz, and the Dental History Museum in Zschadrass. Farther out, Rochlitz Castle stands about 9 kilometers (6 miles) south of the Markt, and Mildenstein Castle rises above Leisnig about 9 kilometers (6 miles) to the east-northeast.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More old towns and castles to watch next:

• Augustusplatz Webcam
• Bad Langensalza Webcam
• Bran Castle Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Colditz located?

Colditz is in the Leipzig district of Saxony in eastern Germany, on the Zwickauer Mulde. It lies about 38 kilometers (24 miles) southeast of central Leipzig.

What can you see on the Colditz Webcam?

The camera looks south-southwest from Colditz Castle over the rooftops of the old town to the Markt, the market square, with the Renaissance town hall and its roof turret at the left end of the square. Beyond the houses, woods and fields run to a low ridge on the horizon.

Does the Colditz Webcam show Colditz Castle?

No. The camera is mounted on the castle and looks away from it, toward the market square about 200 meters (660 feet) to the south-southwest, so the castle itself never appears in the picture. The river below the castle is out of frame too.

What is Colditz famous for?

Mostly for Colditz Castle, which served as Oflag IV-C, a German prison camp for Allied officers, from 1940 to 1945 and had one of the strongest escape records of the war, told in films and television series ever since.

Is Colditz Castle still standing?

Yes. After the war it served as a prison, a care home and a hospital, and it now holds a museum with guided tours and exhibits on the escape tunnels, and a youth hostel occupies the outer courtyard.

What happened to the Colditz glider?

Prisoners built the glider, known as the Colditz Cock, in the winter of 1944 to 1945, but it never flew because the castle was liberated not long after it was finished. A full-size replica commissioned by Channel 4 was test-flown at RAF Odiham in 2000, and in 2012 another replica was launched from the castle roof and landed in a meadow below.

What is the weather like in Colditz?

Winters are cold and cloudy, with January averaging 3 C (37 F) by day and -2 C (29 F) at night and snow possible from late November to early March. July is the warmest and wettest month, at about 23 C (74 F) by day. The operator’s site, webcam-colditz.de, shows the current temperature, wind and humidity beside a 24-hour timelapse.

Source: Style Dach