In the middle of nowhere, just two hours from BerlinStavenow Castle
The name "Stavenow" is Slavic, means "Sorrel Meadow" and probably dates back to the late first millennium, when all the land east of the River Elbe was settled by the Slavs. During the 10th and 12th centuries, the Germans fought the Slavs many times, and control of large parts of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg changed hands frequently.
After a decisive victory in 1149, the Germans emerged as victors in this lengthy struggle, and in 1252 there is documentary evidence of the existence of the master of the first Stavenow Castle (which lay a few hundred yards upstream from the present castle and village), Gerhard von Stavenow. The von Stavenow knights were the prototype robber-barons, plundering and looting the surrounding countryside of the "Wild East".
By 1356, the patience of the neighbouring towns had been exhausted, and Stavenow Castle was destroyed. Control of Stavenow passed to the von Bose family, who built the existing castle (in the same year - they didn't hang about) to guard the bridge over the River Löcknitz.
The presence of the castle ensured the effective collection of customs duties levied by the Duke of Schwerin on the river traffic, which carried valuable trade in leather, salt and alcohol through the otherwise impassable swamps of north-western Brandenburg. Surrounded by a moat filled with flowing water from the river, the castle sat above the marshes, like an island in a lake.
During the 15th century, the old village of Stavenow (still surrounding the ruins of the first castle) was deserted and destroyed, and the castle seized by the quintessential robber-barons - the notorious von Quitzow family. They subsequently rebuilt the village and remodelled the castle in the Renaissance style, using it as a summer residence. The present-day refectory survives largely unchanged from this period.
In the 17th century, Stavenow fell into ruins and the castle was occupied by Roman Catholic troops for seven weeks, during the Thirty Years' War. By 1647, the von Quitzows' murderous and anarchic reign came to an end , when the family, close to bankruptcy as a result of the seemingly interminable war, sold the castle and the feudal estate, consisting of a total of 14 villages, to Joachim Friedrich Freiherr von Blumenthal. A minister of the "Great Elector", Friedrich Wilhelm (great grandfather of Frederick the Great), von Blumenthal had profited handsomely from the war, and remodelled the castle in the Baroque style.
In 1717, Stavenow was bought by the von Kleist family, which could later count a renowned writer and a panzer general among its sons. In 1809, the ten sons and heirs of Marie Elisabeth von Kleist sold the estate (which by then included only four villages) to Otto Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Voß, a minister of the Prussian government.
Von Voß' son, Graf Carl Otto Friedrich von Voß-Buch, himself a close adviser and confidant of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, commissioned the King's architect, Friedrich August Stüler (who also built the National Gallery in Berlin), to completely remodel the castle in the exuberant and grandiose neo-renaissance style of the top right-hand picture on this page.
On March 23, 1848, the King's brother, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (later to become Kaiser Wilhelm I, the first Emperor of Germany) took refuge at the castle, while fleeing (disguised as a coachman) from Berlin and the "revolution" of 1848, en route for the safety of England.
In 1929, the estate was bought by a Dr Kees from Leipzig. He had many of the major architectural features of the Stüler building replaced with a simpler "mediaeval" style in 1935. Mrs Kees also "modernised" the estate workers' houses, by installing wooden floors.
When Stavenow became part of the eastern front during the last days of the Second World War, Dr Kees and his wife shot themselves in Stavenow forest, rather than fall into the hands of the advancing Red Army. After three days of fighting, Stavenow fell to the Russians - the grave of seven anonymous German soldiers (one, only 16 years of age) killed just 5 days before the end of the war, on May 3, 1945, can be seen in the churchyard.
Shortly after the war’s end, the castle was looted and gutted by fire in mysterious circumstances. It was used as a children’s summer camp during the Communist era, when the moat was filled in for hygiene reasons and the top two floors of the tower (which had survived the fire intact) were dismantled for ideological reasons.
Stavenow castle lay empty and deserted for nearly 10 years, before the present owners bought it in 1998. Renovation was completed in 2002.
After a decisive victory in 1149, the Germans emerged as victors in this lengthy struggle, and in 1252 there is documentary evidence of the existence of the master of the first Stavenow Castle (which lay a few hundred yards upstream from the present castle and village), Gerhard von Stavenow. The von Stavenow knights were the prototype robber-barons, plundering and looting the surrounding countryside of the "Wild East".
By 1356, the patience of the neighbouring towns had been exhausted, and Stavenow Castle was destroyed. Control of Stavenow passed to the von Bose family, who built the existing castle (in the same year - they didn't hang about) to guard the bridge over the River Löcknitz.
The presence of the castle ensured the effective collection of customs duties levied by the Duke of Schwerin on the river traffic, which carried valuable trade in leather, salt and alcohol through the otherwise impassable swamps of north-western Brandenburg. Surrounded by a moat filled with flowing water from the river, the castle sat above the marshes, like an island in a lake.
During the 15th century, the old village of Stavenow (still surrounding the ruins of the first castle) was deserted and destroyed, and the castle seized by the quintessential robber-barons - the notorious von Quitzow family. They subsequently rebuilt the village and remodelled the castle in the Renaissance style, using it as a summer residence. The present-day refectory survives largely unchanged from this period.In the 17th century, Stavenow fell into ruins and the castle was occupied by Roman Catholic troops for seven weeks, during the Thirty Years' War. By 1647, the von Quitzows' murderous and anarchic reign came to an end , when the family, close to bankruptcy as a result of the seemingly interminable war, sold the castle and the feudal estate, consisting of a total of 14 villages, to Joachim Friedrich Freiherr von Blumenthal. A minister of the "Great Elector", Friedrich Wilhelm (great grandfather of Frederick the Great), von Blumenthal had profited handsomely from the war, and remodelled the castle in the Baroque style.
In 1717, Stavenow was bought by the von Kleist family, which could later count a renowned writer and a panzer general among its sons. In 1809, the ten sons and heirs of Marie Elisabeth von Kleist sold the estate (which by then included only four villages) to Otto Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Voß, a minister of the Prussian government.
Von Voß' son, Graf Carl Otto Friedrich von Voß-Buch, himself a close adviser and confidant of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV, commissioned the King's architect, Friedrich August Stüler (who also built the National Gallery in Berlin), to completely remodel the castle in the exuberant and grandiose neo-renaissance style of the top right-hand picture on this page.
On March 23, 1848, the King's brother, Prince Wilhelm of Prussia (later to become Kaiser Wilhelm I, the first Emperor of Germany) took refuge at the castle, while fleeing (disguised as a coachman) from Berlin and the "revolution" of 1848, en route for the safety of England.
In 1929, the estate was bought by a Dr Kees from Leipzig. He had many of the major architectural features of the Stüler building replaced with a simpler "mediaeval" style in 1935. Mrs Kees also "modernised" the estate workers' houses, by installing wooden floors.
When Stavenow became part of the eastern front during the last days of the Second World War, Dr Kees and his wife shot themselves in Stavenow forest, rather than fall into the hands of the advancing Red Army. After three days of fighting, Stavenow fell to the Russians - the grave of seven anonymous German soldiers (one, only 16 years of age) killed just 5 days before the end of the war, on May 3, 1945, can be seen in the churchyard.
Shortly after the war’s end, the castle was looted and gutted by fire in mysterious circumstances. It was used as a children’s summer camp during the Communist era, when the moat was filled in for hygiene reasons and the top two floors of the tower (which had survived the fire intact) were dismantled for ideological reasons.
Stavenow castle lay empty and deserted for nearly 10 years, before the present owners bought it in 1998. Renovation was completed in 2002.
Contact:
Burg Stavenow
Okka de Wall
Stavenow 20
D-19357 Karstädt
Germany
| Telephone: | +49 38797 59133 |
| Fax: | +49 38797 90791 |
| Email: | info@burg-stavenow.de |
