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The absolutely royal splendor of the Baroque, concentrated in an epochal event in the middle of the Saxon province!

THE FEST OF ALL FESTS

In early summer 1730 the court of August the strong moved from Dresden all the way to the fields of Zeithain for one of the largest festivities of its age. August´s main aim was to convince the King in Prussia, Frederic William I., to forge an alliance with Poland-Saxony. The twofold event consisted of a military camp for the whole Saxon army, the “Campement at Mühlberg” and the prestigious “Lustlager of Zeithain” – a never seen splendor of baroque lifestyle and representation.

PREPERATIONS

As early as 1726, elector August gave the order to Field Marshall Jacob Henry count of Flemming for the preparation of a parade of the whole Saxon army in the early 1730s. After Flemmings death in 1728, General Christoph August Wackerbarth was named his successor. The brilliant engineer prepared the parade grounds in the vicinity of Riesa and ordered the building of wooden multistorey pavilions for the festivities and even an opera house in the fields. He coordinated the housing and provisioning of 27.000 soldiers, hundreds of aristocratic and noble guests and the whole court of Dresden according to their rank and station.

CULMINATION OF THE FESTIVITIES

Apart from the military maneuvers and exercises in front of the guests and the monarch, baroque splendor was celebrated with dinners, balls, concerts, operas and a brilliant display of fireworks that lasted several hours. Even today the “Zeithainer Riesenstollen” – a gigantic stollen cake of two tons and a dimension of seven by three meters in square is remembered for its sheer size. With a knife created specifically for this purpose, about 24.000 slices of cake were cut.

WHAT REMAINED OF THE SPLENDOR?

The wooden constructions of the festivities were removed and the area returned to its former farmland status. All the glamour vanished, only the memories remained – as well as lots of horrendous bills. The anticipated alliance with Prussia never came to fruition. Only six stone obelisks remained. Four of them can still be seed in the vicinity of Zeithain: Silent witnesses of a glorious celebration.

Lustlager 2024

Am 22 Juni 2024 wurde erneut das Zeithainer Lustlager in der Nähe zum historischen Obelisken abgehalten. Es war wieder eine bemerkenswerte Veranstaltung, die Darsteller des sächsischen Militärs und des Dresdner Hofs aus der glanzvollen Ära Augusts des Starken in Sachsen vereinte.

Das Zeithainer Lustlager 2024 bot somit eine einzigartige Möglichkeit, in die Vergangenheit zu reisen und eine Zeit zu erleben, die für ihre kulturelle Blüte und militärische Stärke bekannt war. Mit der Kombination aus historischen Darstellungen und lehrreichen Interpretationen wurde den Besuchern ermöglicht, die Geschichte Sachsens hautnah zu erfahren und das Erbe der eigenen lokalen Historie zu schätzen.

Radwanderweg Lustlager

Auf dem ca. 35 km langen Lustlagerundweg kann man die Dimension und wichtigsten Höhepunkte der historischen Großveranstaltung nachvollziehen. Auf Infotafeln rund um den Radweg sind zudem viele spannende und interessante Fakten zu entdecken.

Lustlager 2025

Das nächste Zeithainer Lustlager wird am 21. Juni 2025 stattfinden. Darstellenden Gruppen, die Interesse an einer Teilnahme haben, bitten wir über Jentzsch@lustlager.info Kontakt aufzunehmen.

Our aim is to have a
splendid and glorious
jubilee in 2030.

Therefor we need your support and
we invite everybody to join us.

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