Hartenfels Castle –The Großer Wendelstein, the spiral staircase outside Hartenfels Castle designed by architect Konrad Krebs is worth climbing. Without a central pole, the spiral staircase is self supporting.
Nowadays, the castle courtyard serves as central venue for cultural events. Original works of sculpture and stone masonry can be found in the lapidarium, which is located in a historic vault underneath the castle church.
After climbing 163 steps onto the platform of the Hausmann Tower, visitors will be rewarded with a magnificent view over the castle, the town and the Elbe meadows. The bears living in the moat are guaranteed to delight the visitors, especially the children.
The rose garden that lies beneath the castle used to be an area for medieval tournaments. In the 16th century, the area was transformed into a small secluded terrace garden of Renaissance style. Today this place is ideal to have a rest and enjoy tranquility and nature right in the town center.

The castle church (also a castle chapel) is the first Protestant church building in which the doctrine of the Reformation was realized in architecture and art. Martin Luther consecrated the church on October 5, 1544. Its emphasized modesty is due to Luther’s own ideas which were turned into reality by architect Nickel Grohmann, who designed this functional sacral and earliest of all Protestant buildings. The castle chapel remained almost unchanged until today and served as a model for further Protestant churches in Germany. The entire color scheme of the castle and the chapel is owed to Lucas Cranach. He is also responsible for the sketches of the motives on the chapel’s pulpit. Johann Walter, cantor of the Reformation, composed the music for the church’s consecration. He is considered to be one the founders of Protestant vocal music and laid down the foundations for church music. The Torgau Organ Recitals and the annual Festwoche der Kirchenmusik (Festival of Church Music) in particular are well-known far beyond the borders of the town.