Archiv der Kategorie: Castles and manor houses

Loebichau Manor – occasionally 300 guests

Geschichte & Geschichten Veröffentlicht am von
Loebichau castle, postcard from 1904 (Museum Burg Posterstein)

Loebichau castle, postcard from 1904 (Museum Burg Posterstein)

Loebichau was mentioned for the first time in the13th century as a moated castle. The old manor house dates back to the 16th century and was rebuilt in 1908.

The neo-classical castle was built in 1796/98 on behalf of Anna Dorothea of Courland. In the castle’s park stood a small theatre at that time. The duchess’ cultural salon had illustrious international visitors; the most famous among them was probably Tsar Alexander I. of Russia. Occasionally more than 300 guests stayed in Loebichau at the same time. The guests were free to time their day at the „court of muses“; and the highlight of the day was the tea time in the evening hours in the grand hall of the castle. Then there was time for small-talk, philosophy, poetry, dance and music – sometimes the guests played theatre plays themselves; also in the smaller castle Tannenfeld, close to Loebichau.

Tannenfeld castle in 2000 (Museum Burg Posterstein)

Tannenfeld castle in 2000 (Museum Burg Posterstein)

As a result of the East German land reform in 1945 the manor’s owners were expropriated. The castle and the economical buildings were strongly modified after 1945. The buildings are housing a nursing home since DDR time. In 2009 the castle and the manor house were pulled down to make room for a new nursing home building of the operating company from Schmoelln. The remaining economical buildings are restored and host the communal administration.

View the about 60 manors of the county of Altenburg on our google map: http://tiny.cc/o27p6.

A part of the museum Burg Posterstein’s permanent exhibition is dedicated to the court of muses in Loebichau and the museum has published the following books, which can be bought in the museum or ordered per e-mail to info@burg-posterstein.de:

Das alte Schloss sehn wir noch heut…
Aus der Geschichte der Rittergüter im Altenburger Land (Teil II)
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2010

…Und nachmittags fuhren wir nach Nöbdenitz segeln!
Rittergüter im Altenburger Land und ihre Gärten
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2007

Text: Marlene Hofmann / Museum Burg Posterstein

Which castle resisted an air attack but not the East German land reform?

Geschichte & Geschichten Veröffentlicht am von
Rittergut Meuselwitz / Meuselwitz Manor (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

Rittergut Meuselwitz / Meuselwitz Manor (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

Between 1724 and 1724 the German statesman Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff (1626-1692) let build a castle with park and orangery on his manor in Meuselwitz. A baroque gate led into the estate.

Von Seckendorff, born in Herzogenaurach, had graduated at a grammar school in Gotha, Thuringia, and was later on supported by Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg. During the Thirty Years’ War the Swedes executed his father in Salzwedel because of high treason. Von Seckendorff studied philosophy, law and history in Strasbourg. In 1655 he published his book “Der deutsche Fürstenstaat“, a handbook of German public law. This book, which long time had been a benchmark for political science at German universities, was already in von Seckendorffs lifetime published in several editions.

From 1651 to 1663 he achieved a number of important functions at the duke’s court in Gotha. In 1664 he started working for the duke Maurice of Zeitz (†1681). In 1680 he stopped working as a chancellor and retired to his estate in Meuselwitz. But he still had political positions as a chief tax collector in Altenburg and as landscape director. In 1685 his book “Christenstaat“ (the Christian state) was published. Shortly before his dead he was appointed to chancellor of the new founded university in Halle. He died in Halle and was buried in the church in Meuselwitz at December 30th in 1692.

Under an air attack against Meuselwitz at February 20th in 1945 the economical buildings of Meuselwitz Manor were badly damaged. The castle itself suffered from only small damages.  But as a consequence of the East German land reform in 1945 all buildings were pulled down. Only the badly damaged orangery and the well preserved baroque gate were conserved. In spite of protests from the local office for preservation of historical monuments the gate was pulled down, too, in 1950. The orangery could be restored by Walter Gruner, an architect from Leipzig, in 1957. An historic mill, belonging to the old estate, was pulled down in 1988. The free space, where Meuselwitz manor once had been standing, is today used as a parking space.

View the about 60 manors of the county of Altenburg on our google map: http://tiny.cc/o27p6.

Read more about castles and manor houses in Altenburg region in the following books, which can be bought in the museum or ordered per e-mail to info@burg-posterstein.de:

Das alte Schloss sehn wir noch heut…
Aus der Geschichte der Rittergüter im Altenburger Land (Teil II)
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2010

…Und nachmittags fuhren wir nach Nöbdenitz segeln!
Rittergüter im Altenburger Land und ihre Gärten
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2007

Text: Marlene Hofmann / Museum Burg Posterstein

Who was buried under a tree?

Geschichte & Geschichten Veröffentlicht am von
Die 1000jährige Eiche von Nöbdenitz / the 1000 year old oak of Nobdenitz (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

Die 1000jährige Eiche von Nöbdenitz / the 1000 year old oak of Nobdenitz (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

In Nobdenitz, a small village in Eastern Thuringia, stands an old oak tree. People say that it is about 1000 years old. Last year the local authorities fitted the tree with further support columns to match the requirements of the German traffic regulations. The so called “1000 year old oak” is hollow inside – and houses a minister’s grave.

Nobdenitz once had a manor, which in the 12th century was mentioned fort he first time. The former medieval mouted castle was later converted into a castle. Awhile manor in Nobdeniz was owned by the minister Hans Willhelm von Thummel (1744-1824). Between 1803 and 1808 he was – with diplomatic mission – travelling to Denmark, Berlin, Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Dresden and Paris. As a friend of the duke Ernst from Saxony-Gotha and Altenburg (1745-1804) his influence on court was huge. Today he is still known because of his engagement in the county: He founded one of the first banks (Kammerleihbank), supported the building of roads, mapped the region and founded the local hospital in Altenburg.

East from Nobdenitz castle Thummel had a pleasure garden. From here visitors had a straight-lined view alongside a way to a summer house. A path along the lake invited the guest to dander. Friends of the family, as the duchess Dorothea of Courland (http://www.facebook.com/burgposterstein?v=app_2344061033#!/event.php?eid=166366573376663&index=1), who had a castle near-by in Lobichau, liked to visit Nobdenitz to sail on the lake and to enjoy the view of the old and the new castle.

Before his dead Hans Willhelm von Thummel decided to get buried at an inconvenient place – under the oak of Nobdenitz. He bought the tree from the local church and let arrange a grave between the trees roots. This grave was inspected in 1959 by the local teacher and historian Ernst Braunlich. He documented that there was a small oratory with a wooden bench inside the hollow tree, to commemorate the death. The body lies in a coffin parallel to the street. Today one can only look at the 1000 year old oak from outside. A tablet tells its story.

As a consequence of the East German land reform in 1945 the Nobdenitz Manor’s owners were expropriated. The new castle and large parts of the economical buildings were pulled down. A mausoleum from 1782, the Thummel’s family grave, was pulled down in the end of the 1960s. The manor house, dating back to 1692, still exists and is now used as the communal administration department.

View the about 60 manors of the county of Altenburg on our google map: http://tiny.cc/o27p6.

Read more about castles and manor houses in Altenburg region in the following books, which can be bought in the museum or ordered per e-mail to info@burg-posterstein.de:

Das alte Schloss sehn wir noch heut…
Aus der Geschichte der Rittergüter im Altenburger Land (Teil II)
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2010

…Und nachmittags fuhren wir nach Nöbdenitz segeln!
Rittergüter im Altenburger Land und ihre Gärten
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2007

Text: Marlene Hofmann / Museum Burg Posterstein

What does a sphinx in the county of Altenburg?

Geschichte & Geschichten Veröffentlicht am von
Die Sphinx von Prößdorf / the sphinx of Proessdorf (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

Die Sphinx von Prößdorf / the sphinx of Proessdorf (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

In the 15th century a knight’s residence in Proessdorf was mentioned in the records for the first time. The manor’s high period started in 1818, when Carl Heinrich von Tettenborn bought the property. He was said to be a strong admirer of fine arts like architecture, sculpture and painting. He decorated the buildings and the park according to his taste. That included enlargement and rearrangement of the park. After Tettenborns treatment shady access balconies decorated the pleasure garden. An antic pavilion invited the guests to stay. Grots, a number of statues as lions and a sphinx as well as small fountains decorated the park. Exotic plants of all kind blossomed in beds and flower buckets.

The castle Proessdorf, dating back to 18th century, was converted into an apartment building in 1969. The estate buildings, which were built in the 19th century, were expanded in 1906/07. As a consequence of the East German land reform the manor’s owner were expropriated. In the following time the farm buildings were pulled down bit by bit, lastly in 1998. By the installation of apartments between 1969 and 1973 the castle was strongly deformed. Rests of the impressing port are still remaining.

View the about 60 manors of the county of Altenburg on our google map: http://tiny.cc/o27p6.

Read more about castles and manor houses in Altenburg region in the following books, which can be bought in the museum or ordered per e-mail to info@burg-posterstein.de:

Das alte Schloss sehn wir noch heut…
Aus der Geschichte der Rittergüter im Altenburger Land (Teil II)
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2010

…Und nachmittags fuhren wir nach Nöbdenitz segeln!
Rittergüter im Altenburger Land und ihre Gärten
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2007

Text: Marlene Hofmann / Museum Burg Posterstein

The muses’ place in Romschütz

Geschichte & Geschichten Veröffentlicht am von
(c) Museum Burg Posterstein: Romschütz

(c) Museum Burg Posterstein: Romschütz

Johann Friedrich I. Bachoff von Echt, since 1700 owner of the Romschütz manor, let construct a baroque pleasure garden in 1712. Admirers describe him as a „man of seldom supremeness of mind and heart“. He let construct an alley that lead from the castle to the so-called “Parnass”-mountain. From the richly decorated rococo hall guests could enjoy a great view over the garden with water basin all the way to the top of the hill. This hill got its name after the second highest mountain in Greece. The over 2000 meter high Parnass mountain is in the Greece mythology considered as the seat of the god Apollo and the muses – a place, where nature, culture and legend meet. In the middle of the 18th century a pavilion in Chinese style stood on the top of the hill in Romschütz.

The Romschütz manor, an earlier medieval mouted castle, was mentioned for the first time in the 13th century. The manor house dates back to the year 1712. The rests of the mouted castle were declared a listed monument in 1960. In 1972 the castle was pulled down and the stronghold lake was filled with the boulder. The economic buildings are still preserved.

View the about 60 manors of the county of Altenburg on our google map: http://tiny.cc/o27p6.

Read more about castles and manor houses in Altenburg region in the following books, which can be bought in the museum or ordered per e-mail to info@burg-posterstein.de:

Das alte Schloss sehn wir noch heut…
Aus der Geschichte der Rittergüter im Altenburger Land (Teil II)
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2010

…Und nachmittags fuhren wir nach Nöbdenitz segeln!
Rittergüter im Altenburger Land und ihre Gärten
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2007

Text: Marlene Hofmann / Museum Burg Posterstein

Where stands “half of a castle“?

Geschichte & Geschichten Veröffentlicht am von
(c) Museum Burg Posterstein, Schloss Langenleuba-Niederhain

(c) Museum Burg Posterstein, Schloss Langenleuba-Niederhain

The Langenleuba-Niederhain manor is a former medieval castle with moat, which was surrounded by water. The manor house was rebuilt during 1707 and 1711. In 1838 one part of the castle was pulled down – that is why the manor got the nickname “the half castle”. In 1805 the half castle was still surrounded by water and the farm buildings could only be reached by a bridge. In 1946 the owners were expropriated in the aftermath of the East-German land reform. On the manor’s land new farms were built during DDR time. The manor house, the half castle, served as a school building. Since ca. 1980 the building is vacant and decaying. The farming houses and the manor’s guest house are preserved in a good condition.

View the about 60 manors of the county of Altenburg on our google map: http://tiny.cc/o27p6.

Read more about castles and manor houses in Altenburg region in the following books, which can be bought in the museum or ordered per e-mail to info@burg-posterstein.de:

Das alte Schloss sehn wir noch heut…
Aus der Geschichte der Rittergüter im Altenburger Land (Teil II)
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2010

…Und nachmittags fuhren wir nach Nöbdenitz segeln!
Rittergüter im Altenburger Land und ihre Gärten
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2007

Text: Marlene Hofmann / Museum Burg Posterstein

The Langenleuba-Niederhain manor is a former medieval castle with moat, which was surrounded by water. The manor house was rebuilt during 1707 and 1711. In 1838 one part of the castle was pulled down – that is why the manor got the nickname “the half castle”. In 1805 the half castle was still surrounded by water and the farm buildings could only be reached by a bridge. In 1946 the owners were expropriated in the aftermath of the East-German land reform. On the manor’s land new farms were built during DDR time. The manor house, the half castle, served as a school building. Since ca. 1980 the building is vacant and decaying. The farming houses and the manor’s guest house are preserved in a good condition.

Who had feasts in the middle of a lake?

Geschichte & Geschichten Veröffentlicht am von
(c) Burg Posterstein: Lake Haselbach today

(c) Burg Posterstein: Lake Haselbach today

From 1750 special parties were hold in Haselbach: Jakob Friedrich Freiherr von Bielefeld (died 1770), at that time owner of the manor Haselbach, obviously was a man who enjoyed life and arts. He had a preference for having feasts in the middle of a lake. To do this, he had a big raft built, where there was space enough for a table and around 30 people could have a seat and eat. Additionally he had rafts for musicians and waiters as well. The waiters had to transport food and drinks by boat.

The former manor house (called “House with a stork’s nest”) dates back to 1755 and was later modified. To the manor belonged a range of lakes (Haselbach lakes): The Nobitz Lake with a small island, the Backhaus Lake, the Käsebank Lake, the Dorothy Lake, the so-called lake with island and the Bee Lake, the Stretch Lake, the Shield Lake, the Women’s Lake, the Slice Lake, the Soaphole Lake and the New Lake (most of the names directly translated from German). With the East German land reform in 1945 the manor’s owners were expropriated. In the consequence the manor house and the farm buildings were pulled down. Today the farm’s buildings are strongly influenced by that time.

View the about 60 manors of the county of Altenburg on our google map: http://tiny.cc/o27p6.

Read more about castles and manor houses in Altenburg region in the following books, which can be bought in the museum or ordered per e-mail to info@burg-posterstein.de:

Das alte Schloss sehn wir noch heut…
Aus der Geschichte der Rittergüter im Altenburger Land (Teil II)
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2010

…Und nachmittags fuhren wir nach Nöbdenitz segeln!
Rittergüter im Altenburger Land und ihre Gärten
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2007

Text: Marlene Hofmann / Museum Burg Posterstein

Vollmershain manor – „with writer and horseman“

Geschichte & Geschichten Veröffentlicht am von
Vollmershain 1965, (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

Vollmershain 1965, (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

Vollmershain manor, a former moated castle, could for the first time be documented in the 12th century. In 1580, for example, the manor was owned by Otto von Weissbach. Besides the owner “with writer and horseman” (as cited in the documents), his brother Wolf von Weissbach with “praeceptor” (tutor), his wife, five children, three maidservants and two farm labourers lived there. The manor’s owners shifted quickly during the following decades. For a long period it was owned by the landlords of the neighbouring castle Posterstein.

After fires and reconstruction works the manor today is conserved as a four sided farmyard, which is typical for the region. During DDR-time the farm was used by the LPG (East Germany’s collectivised farms). After 1990 the former owners bought the farm back.

View the about 60 manors of the county of Altenburg on our google map: http://tiny.cc/o27p6.

Read more about castles and manor houses in Altenburg region in the following books, which can be bought in the museum or ordered per e-mail to info@burg-posterstein.de:

Das alte Schloss sehn wir noch heut…
Aus der Geschichte der Rittergüter im Altenburger Land (Teil II)
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2010

…Und nachmittags fuhren wir nach Nöbdenitz segeln!
Rittergüter im Altenburger Land und ihre Gärten
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2007

Text: Marlene Hofmann / Museum Burg Posterstein

Who had a Chinese bath house?

Geschichte & Geschichten Veröffentlicht am von
Rittergut Untschen (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

Rittergut Untschen (c) Museum Burg Posterstein

In the 18th century Untschen manor was owned by the minister Hans Wilhelm von Thümmel, who made his mark in the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg by founding one of the first banks, developing road building as well as land surveying. In 1796 he opened the guesthouse “The Golden Dragon” in Untschen, although that was against the next bigger city Schmölln’s laws on fringe area. On the south side of the street, the manor’s brewery was placed in a hop garden. To the manor’s lands belonged a number of lakes, too. Aesthete Thümmel established a project on floating of timber in Untschen as well. Close to the floating lake and the mill he had a Chinese bath house build in 1796. It was called the “temple of Untschen”.

The about 800 year old manor was disappropriated with the land reform in 1945. During the next years a big farm building (1945) and the brewery and the brickyard (1960s) were pulled down. A former administration building served as a guest house up to the 1980s and a former horse stable today rooms a small shop.

View the about 60 manors of the county of Altenburg on our google map: http://tiny.cc/o27p6.

Read more about castles and manor houses in Altenburg region in the following books, which can be bought in the museum or ordered per e-mail to info@burg-posterstein.de:

Das alte Schloss sehn wir noch heut…
Aus der Geschichte der Rittergüter im Altenburger Land (Teil II)
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2010

…Und nachmittags fuhren wir nach Nöbdenitz segeln!
Rittergüter im Altenburger Land und ihre Gärten
© Museum Burg Posterstein 2007

Text: Marlene Hofmann / Museum Burg Posterstein