Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella at Moritzburg Castle

Every year at Christmas time, it runs again - The movie “Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella*”. I (Gina) honestly wasn’t spared from it either, because I couldn’t avoid this movie in my parents’ house. I have to say, I was never really a fan of this movie, but I always find the locations fascinating. No matter what movie it is, if I find a location shown there exciting, I have to research where it’s located. Visiting a filming location that appears in the movie is very interesting to me. I often discover new cool places this way. With Moritzburg, it was actually a bit different: We actually discovered this place by chance.

We didn’t even know that there was an exhibition about the movie “Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella” there. But it was all the cooler to admire and discover everything on site. Just for my mom, who is a little fan of this movie, we had to go there and take some photos.

Moritzburg Castle alone captivates you. It looks impressive and is worth it even independently of the exhibition. The castle is located on an artificial island in the castle pond. So if you’re lucky, it’s surrounded by water, which must look beautiful. We were rather unlucky, because there was hardly any water around us.

Arriving in front of the castle, a huge shoe immediately showed us what this exhibition was about. Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella was filmed in Moritzburg in 1972. The exhibition about the movie of the same name takes place every year during the winter months from mid-November to the end of February.

At the beginning of the exhibition, everything is beautifully decorated for winter. Fir trees wrapped in snow, illuminated with gentle lights. Here and there you discover one or another stuffed animal, like a deer or a fox. In the next room, if you want, you can try on costumes from the movie and take a photo or two of yourself. Children certainly have a lot of fun here.

You’ll notice red deer antlers everywhere in the castle - but the most impressive collection is in the dining hall. There are 71 antlers mounted there, which are 270-400 years old. The equipment of these antlers is dedicated to courtly hunting. There you’ll also find the two-meter-wide red deer antler weighing 19.8kg, which is so far the heaviest red deer antler in the world.

In the other rooms, you’ll be told stories from the filming and open questions will be answered. You can look at props, original costumes and movie sets, the typical music from the movie of course can’t be missing either, this also takes you through the rooms and feels like into another world. You almost feel as if you were in the movie yourself.

You’ll find the main actors as wax figures. The legendary scene of the prince and Cinderella dancing can’t be missing either. So the two wax figures turn in the middle of the room and fill it with a special atmosphere. Honestly, even if you’re not a fan of this movie, the exhibition is still very well done and definitely worth it. As a fan of the movie, it’s naturally a must to come here.

Once you’re outside again, you reach the outdoor staircase of the castle. There Cinderella lost her shoe when she left the ball. You can still find it there today. Some people take this as an opportunity and actually test whether their foot will fit in this shoe.