The Moritzburg state stud which was originally founded by King "Anton the Benevolent" and the principal stud of Graditz, which were placed under the jurisdiction of the Saxon Stud Administration after German reunification, are said to have been established relatively late in comparison to other state studs.
Horse breeding in Saxony and Thuringia are actually much older, as studfarms are already mentioned during the sixteenth century in Merseburg, Borschütz, Kalkreuth, and Stolpen. Then in the seventeenth century the studs of Veßra, Wendelstein, Paudriztsch and Zella are documented. Graditz is first mentioned in 1630 and at the end of the seventeenth century, the Torgau studfarm which included not only Graditz, but the outstations of Kreyschau, Repitz, Döhlen, Neublessern and Altblessern was established.
State horse breeding was in a desolate state of affairs during the seventeenth century, as stallions from the royal studfarms were not made accessible to farmers and property owners and so-called "stallion riders" merely travelled from village to village.
The result was a rather unplanned, uncoordinated increase in the number of horses rather than useful breeding and it took until 1766 for the first state stallions to be put into service. The first time that a course of direction was officially undertaken was with the establishment of a state stud in Annaburg in 1800. Mortizburg is also mentioned here for the first time, initially however, as a subsidiary of the "State Foal Training Centre of Annaburg". King Anton decreed in 1828"... that in the future, the state stallions should be brought to Moritzburg following the completion of the covering period".

The original hunting lodge outside of the gates of Dresden, which the Elector Frederick-August II, who went down into history as August the Mighty, was transformed into the impressive baroque Moritzburg castle, surrounded by water.
According to the plans of the court architect Pöppelmann, a stables was constructed between 1733 and 1735 vis-a-vis the castle, in which hunting horses of the elector were housed. Approximately one hundred years later, after the stables were enlarged, state stallions occupied loose boxes there.
Blood impressed stallions from Mecklenburg and Hungary were initially stationed there, but sires of Spanish-Neapolitan origin were also utilised. These were later complemented by East Prussian and Anglo-Norman horses.

In 1873, the breeding target was changed to that of a "stocky, short legged horse, similar in type to that of the Oldenburger, "equally well-suited for the carriage and the plough".
Under the auspices of a number of different dukes of Münster, who were state equerries between 1877 and 1920, the stock of state stallions at the time comprised two-thirds of Oldenburg stallions. Dr. Ernst Bilke, the state equerry from 1936 to 1945 enforced their utilisation by means of diverse purchases from Oldenburg, but also from East Friesland.
Dr. Bilke experienced the end of the Second World War, including the burning of the entire studfarm archives by Soviet soldiers on the inner courtyard of the studfarm.
Dr. Hans-Joachim Schwark, who was later professor and director of the department of animal husbandry - cattle and horse breeding at the university of Leipzig, was authorised as the director of the stallion depot from 1958 to 1962, succeeding Erwin Hager, who was later to become manager of the Graditz thoroughbred studfarm, performing outstanding work there over a period of ten years. Moritzburg lost, the title of state stud in 1951, when the covering stations were relocated to individual state owned farms.
What remained was the stallion performance test facilities. The riding hall and part of the stables were occupied by pigs and calves. Shortly afterwards, Moritzburg was given the status of a stallion depot similar to Redefin and Neustadt.

The development of the stallion depot as well as the whole situation of horse-breeding in Saxony and Thuringia was decisively characterised between 1962 and 1985 by Dr. Herta Steiner, who installed the stallions of Mecklenburg-Brandenburg origin as well as Trakehners and thoroughbreds. Credit must be given to her for the preservation of the heavy warmblood horse which was based on the Oldenburg - East Frisian breed.
This old (cultural) breed of which only remnants existed in their original breeding regions, are enjoying great popularity today.
As a result of the German reunification of 1990, Moritzburg was once again bestowed with the title of a state stud and today houses more than 40 competition sport stallions of diverse population in its historical walls, including Thuringian and Saxon breeds, but largely stallions from the North German selective breeding areas and Trakehner stallions.
The spectrum of horse breeds includes not only the heavy warm-bloods, but also Haflingers, draught horses, thoroughbreds and a number of riding ponies of a stock of more than 100 stallions.
The Saxon State Riding and Driving School, which is the successor of the former school in Leisnig is affiliated to the studfarm. At the same time Moritzburg is the testing centre for stallions of the Haflinger, draught horse and heavy warmblood breeds.

Sächsisches Landgestüt Leitung: Dr. Matthias Görbert Schloßallee 1 D- 01468 Moritzburg Tel/Fax.: 0049-(0)35207-81407 + 81775 e-mail: Oehme.Annelies@gsv.lfl.smul.sachsen.de

Dr. Matthias Görbert