Altenburg is a city in Thuringia, Germany that is famous for an out-of-the-ordinary reason. It’s where cards, including “Skat”, the German national card game, were invented and manufactured. That’s not Altenburg’s sole claim to fame, as the 11th century town also offers an array of attractions to go with it such as a castle, botanical garden and striking town hall.
Altenburg’s town hall was built in 1562 and designed by master builder Nikolaus Grohmann from Weimar. It is thought to be Germany’s most beautiful Renaissance building with an octagonal stair tower and entrance displaying the “Gaffköpfe”, meaning gaff heads, which symbolise the craftsmen of that particular era. The Marketplace is home to six different markets consisting of the main market, oldest market place, skirt market, corn market, pottery market, and cattle market, all overseen by the Castle of Altenburg ordered by Otto I the Great, German king and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Built as an outpost of the German occupation, it became the town’s crowning glory with its stunning summit view.
Leipzig/Halle airport is 60 kilometres from the city, with trains to Altenburg station about an hour away. Public transport within Altenburg is exclusively by bus. Taxis are plentiful in the town.
The popular German card game “Skat” was invented here between 1810 and 1815 by card-loving Altenburg locals. Altenburg was the perfect scenario due to its thriving markets, affluent farmers and genial townspeople. In 1811, around the time when Skat was invented, dictionary publisher F. A. Brockhaus had written: "In the five months of my stay in Altenburg, I have experienced more in the intellectual field that some people are often granted in the whole of their lives.”