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Views of the Park The Park is reached by a fairly steep path that leads down beside the 'Terrace House'. This building was part of the German barracks arrangements during the War.  This is the view of the Terrace House from the Park, having gone down the path and crossing the stream via the bridge at the bottom of the path, and looking East:  The photo below puts another interesting feature into perspective. The red and white tape just visible to the lower left of the photo is the location of the 'Dutch manhole', from which four home-runs were made by Dutch officers. The bridge parapet is just visible to the right; also the path up to the Castle is just visible going up to the left and then right towards the level of the Terrace House.  Looking slightly round to the South from the previous picture, we see the wall of the Park as it drops down from the edge of the roadway to the East of the Park:  The stream passes under the gated archway in the wall, flowing in to the park at this point from left to right [South to North]. Here is a closer view of the wall and stream gate:  ...and then the wall as it passes to the East:  The moss-covered stone pillars are all that remains of the foundations of a pavilion that stood here during the War. In May, 1941, Lt. R. Collin made a successful home run, begun by hiding in the rafters of the pavilion until the park exercise party had returned to the Castle buildings. While at this end of the Park, let's take another look at the manhole cover from which four Dutch officers made successful home-runs. Firstly, here is how the manhole sits in regard to the rest of the park, looking northwest with the stream bridge in the background:  ...and another similar view:  And now a view of the Terrace House, with the stream, bridge, manhole and Castle all in the same picture.  Here is a view to the north-north-west, showing the manhole, the Castle just visible to the left, and the observation tower/viewpoint at the top of the Weinterrassen to the north of the Castle.  There is a track which follows the inside of the Park wall, and raised some 20-30 feet above the general level of the Park. This photo was taken from the north-eastern side of the Park, looking back towards the Castle. The reflection of the Castle buildings is just visible in the pond.  On the northern side of the Castle hill, a path winds up to the Castle from the Park:  In late 1944, Lt. Mike Sinclair was shot while escaping, making an attempt that he knew from the start had little hope of success. Sinclair was the only officer to be shot and killed during an escape attempt from Colditz; this is approximately the spot where he fell, at the northern end of the Park, looking South:  The winding path from the northern end of the Park is also visible on the Castle hill in the background. Finally for this series of Park photos, here are two shots of the stream that runs around this side of the Castle hill. The first shows the stream passing out under the wall at the Northern end of the Park; this wall runs South to North, and the stream runs out in a Westerly direction to join the River Mulde about 200 yards further West. During the War, this arch was of course barred to prevent escapes. The photo was taken from the small footbridge over the stream at this point.  ...and then a view from the same point, facing East. For orientation purposes, note the hut in the background, as seen in the picture two pictures above; also note the beginning of the winding path up the north-eastern side of the hill:  Views of the Castle from the Park Return to photos index page   |