Grochwitz near Herzberg/Elster was Heinrich von Brühl's first estate. He bought it in 1731 from Carl Gottlieb von Römer, aged only 31 years old at the time. In 1736 he had an impressive palace built to a design by Samuel Locke. The central wing was vaulted with a dome from which a lantern and an obelisk extruded, giving the palace building an idiosyncratic accentuation.
In October 1757, Frederick II of Prussia occupied the castle and had it plundered; less than a year later, in September 1758, Prussian soldiers burned it down. Due to the high economic damage, Count Brühl sold his property in Grochwitz and Rahnisdorf to Adolph Christian Wendler in 1761. With the proceeds he bought the estate of Zschepplin. Further changes of ownership followed. In 1783 another fire broke out in the palace. The palace building that exists today dates mainly from the 19th century. After the Land R eform, the palace was used as a boarding school, among other things. The roof and tower burnt down in 1992, but were rebuilt.
Today: Grochwitz is currently used as a hotel.
