Old castles in East Germany face a new future

Steffen Seibel
Sat, 01/02/2021
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  • Comments: 3

Germany, Brandenburg, County Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Lindenau. Long-standing legal dispute over Lindenau Castle ends in favor of the community: Lindenau Castle is once again in municipal ownership and is to be marketed. Monument-protected building in solid condition despite longstanding vacancy.

There are no isolated cases in countries with a socialist past: municipalities and associations fight against vacancy and decay of their local buildings and often encounter legal resistance due to complicated legal situations. Prominent examples of this are the Gutshaus Johannstorf in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern or Schloss Crossen an der Elster in Thüringen. Even in neighboring European countries such as Poland, unclear ownership issues or disagreements among heirs are causing many valuable historic buildings to fall asleep for many years.

Lindenau Castle: Abandoned for more than 20 years

For Schloss Lindenau in Upper Lusatia, a long-standing legal dispute has now come to a positive end for the community: since the private owner failed to fulfill contractual obligations and there was no restoration of the castle, he had to return the castle and park to the community of Lindenau. Lindenau is now looking for a suitable investor for the Renaissance castle and Brandenburg cultural monument. And there are already several prospective buyers who want to renovate Lindenau Castle and put it to a new use.

It could be worse: Building fabric of Lindenau Castle good

Local mayor Ralf Herrmann and the citizens of the small town in the Oberspreewald are visibly relieved after the court decision and hope that things are now moving forward quickly. After the castle had not been open to the public for many years, a first inspection and stock-taking caused a surprise; the building fabric is surprisingly good and dry. Despite its former use as a children's home, essential historical elements have been preserved: The entrance hall with its old tiles and cross-ribbed ceilings, historical fireplaces as well as parquet floors and baroque stucco ceilings in the larger rooms of the castle.

Estimated refurbishment costs in the 6-digit range

While the interior shows only minor damage so far, the exterior of the building in particular is in need of renovation. Despite the overall good condition of Schloss Lindenau, the renovation costs will be well into the 6-digit range. Therefore, the community wants to intensively deal with potential investors and carefully examine utilization concepts. The castle also includes a 23-hectare park. The community is basically open to the question of how the castle park is to be used in the future. However, it would be desirable for the castle and park to remain accessible to the population, at least temporarily.

Contact community Lindenau

Amt Ortrand für die Gemeinde Lindenau
Altmarkt 1
01990 Ortrand, Germany
Mayor: Ralf Herrmann



Photo gallery Schloss Lindenau 2014




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Schloss Lindenau is a Renaissance castle in the Brandenburg district of Oberspreewald-Lausitz in Germany. The core of today's building originated from a medieval fortification towards the end of the 16th century and was built for the von Minckwitz family. At the end of the 19th century, the Prussian noble family Lynar was the owner of the castle. At that time it received its present neo-baroque overmodelling. In the post-war years it served as a children's home. After the fall of the Berlin Wall it was sold to a private investor, but promised investments failed to materialize.

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Comments (3)

KM
Krengel Mirella Guest #3
04/17/2024 18:45 | from Germany
Hallo, es hat uns sehr gefreut, dass das Schloß in Lindenau vor dem Verfall gerettet werden wird und ein Käufer bzw. ein Investor sich gefunden hat das Schloß zum neuen Leben verhelfen möchte. Es wäre sehr schade gewesen solche Köstlichkeiten der Geschichte buchstäblich verrotten zu lassen. Alles Gute und ganz viel Kraft wünschen wir! 👍⛪😊
Steffen Seibel
Steffen Seibel #2
03/18/2023 10:02 | from Germany
Hallo Herr Strähler,

vielen Dank für Ihre Geschichte. Es freut mich zu hören, dass Sie mit dem Schloss schöne Kindheitserinnerungen verbinden!

Vor einiger Zeit war das Kaufangebot mit Innenräumen und dem Torhaus auf unserem Portal zu sehen. Wie in dem Beitrag bereits erwähnt, war das Interesse sehr groß. Leider wurde die Immobilienanzeige zwischenzeitlich gelöscht, sonst hätte ich sie hier verlinkt.

Wir wünschen Ihnen weiterhin alles Gute!
PS
Peter Strähler Guest #1
03/14/2023 20:48 | from Germany
Ich bin 81 Jahre und war auch Mitschlossbesitzer.1951 zogen wir Heimkinder vom Kinderheim Hosena nach Lindenau. Die Lehrer Ausbildung Stätte verliess das Schloss. Ich hatte hier eine wunderschöne Kindheit. Ein Problem war die Schule. Mal im Schloss, dann im Torhaus, dann gegenüber der Kirche und im Dorf. Unsere Aufgabe war im Park die Wege in Ordnung zu halten. Ein Höhepunkt war das Abfischen des Schlossgraben und Schlossteich.

Als Erwachsener bin ich immer wieder als Besucher und mit meinen Kindern und Frau da gewesen. Mir tat es in der Seele leid wie das Scloss mehr und mehr leitete.Ich freue mich wenn wieder neues Leben einkehrt. Ich wohne durch die Arbeit über 50 Jahre in der Nähe von Greifswald. Ich wünsche der Gemeinde alles Gute und das sie ein glückliches Händchen haben bei erneuter Vergabe.

Freundliche Grüsse
Peter Strähler.
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