Schloss Annaberg, Silesia, Germany

The Schloss Annaberg in Silesia was a former medieval fortress, the property of a duke, then knights and nobles. Historically, the estate was located in Germany, very near the German-Polish border, but is today part of Poland. It was purchased by the Viennese Rothschild family in 1846.

Today known as the Chałupki Castle, Poland, the first recorded information about the Castle dates to 1373, where it was referred to a document issued by the Opole prince Jan for the knight Pasko. At that time, it was a typical defensive castle surrounded by a moat, protecting the crossing of the nearby river. The estate then passed into the hands of Margrave George Hohenzollern, who rebuilt the Castle because of the Turkish threat.

From 1623 the Castle belonged to the Henckel von Donnersmarck family, who created a park around it (which survives to this day), and in the 18th and 19th centuries rebuilt it into a Baroque residence, on a rectangular plan with a mansard roof and a tower covered with a cupola. In 1907, the last reconstruction of the Castle was carried out. Today, the property bears traces of numerous modern alterations, including the Rothschild coat of arms above the main entrance, and the earlier relics of its former moat and bridge.

In 1938, the Viennese Rothschild family were deprived of all their German and Austrian possessions, including the Schloss Annaberg, which, when the area became Polish territory in 1945, then became the property of the Polish state. In 1959, Clarice von Rothchild (née Sebag-Montefiore) (1894-1967), the widow of Baron Alphonse Mayer von Rothschild (1878-1942) made representation to the Polish Foreign Compensation Commission on behalf of the descendants of the Viennese Rothschild family for the return of the estate; these claims were ultimately unsuccessful.

From 1970 the castle stood empty, but in the 1970s the first renovation work began. In 1983 a hotel was opened in the property, and since 1994 the building has been leased to a private individual. Today, the Chałupki Castle functions as a hotel and restaurant, set within parkland.