Monday 8th October 2018
Today we took the short drive over to Colditz again to visit the Schloss and take the 13:00 guided tour. Priced at €9 the tour lasts an hour and gives you the basics of the history of the castle and its’ use as prisoner of war camp Oflag IV-C during World War 2.
There is a two hour extended tour available too. If I were to go again I would plump for this.
We parked up in a small, free, car park near to Lidl and made our way into the market place passing the neat Rathaus toward the steep stairs up to the castle entrance. There are 3 flights of these stairs to reach the entrance.
Our tour consisted of Alex, our informative and jovial tour guide, Kim & I, and a coach party of Brits from up north.
Non politically correct warning 🙂
One of the group asked Alex where he was from. “Bradford” came the answer. “Oh, I went to Uni there” said the man. Alex replies “Why did you go to Bradford, do you like curry?” At this point I knew I would enjoy the tour 🙂
Our party entered into the main courtyard where Alex explained that in the 1940’s the castle was a sombre, unpainted, building and not the bright cream coloured place that it is today. He told us that in its’ history the castle had been a palace, a lunatic asylum, hospital, concentration camp for political prisoners, and of course a prisoner of war camp in WW2.
He went on to describe the exploits of the prisoners in attempted escapes including the first British escapee Airey Neave.
The tour continued to the rear of the castle which overlooks the tiergarten. Here Alex explained that the prisoners exercised in the garden and informed us of more successful escapes. One prisoner vaulted the fence, stole a bicycle, and rode to Switzerland in 8 days!
Next port of call was the Chapel. Here we were told of the French prisoners extreme tunnelling work and saw the tunnels through glass panels. More information of the French Tunnel here.
In the wine cellar the men had tunnelled for months using primitive tools only for the Germans to discover it 2 metres short of being completed! The French were made to pay for the damage!
We proceeded to the balcony below the attic space where the Colditz Cock glider had been built and Alex informed the group of the Channel Four team that came to Colditz in 2004 and recreated the feat of building a glider in the roof space and going on to successfully fly it over the river as the original prisoners intended. Unfortunately none of them lived to see their dream realised.
Alex then went on to say that in spite of all the escape attempts the Germans only killed one prisoner during the war and that was by a shot hitting Lieutenant Michael Sinclairs elbow and ricocheting through his heart.
At this point the tour ended and the coach group left leaving us to explore the museum in peace & quiet. There are amazing contraptions made by the prisoners including a sewing machine made almost entirely of wood and string!
Hanging above us was a model of the loft glider.
A fascinating visit to a grand building which highlights the best of human endurance and ingenuity.