Demerthin Castle

Demerthin Castle in the municipality of Gumtow in the state of Brandenburg is one of the few unaltered secular Renaissance buildings in the region.

Demerthin Castle – actually a manor house – is based on a fiefdom that came into the possession of the von Klitzing family in 1468 through Frederick II. The family received the village and estate of Demerthin, where they subsequently developed the manor house into a Renaissance seat from the 16th century onwards. The castle in its current form dates relatively unaltered from 1604. The builder was Katharina von Oppen, whose husband Andreas von Klitzing left behind an economically successful estate after his death in 1586, thus providing his widow with the financial means for the new construction. The founder of the building is referenced in the inscription above the portal.

The castle is a small, two-story structure with a gabled roof, given more massiveness by large dormer windows on the courtyard and garden sides. While the garden side is structured by the three gables but otherwise relatively unadorned, the center of the castle on the courtyard side is emphasized by a slender, dome-crowned stair tower. The most striking ornament on the building is the magnificent Renaissance portal integrated into the tower, with its rich sculptural decoration in Mannerist forms. The courtyard facade of the castle is framed by various outbuildings, originally built in half-timbered style, which together form a courtyard of honor. The side buildings are not preserved in their original state but have been replaced by newer buildings, some erected after 1950. Behind the castle are the remnants of the former castle park with some very old trees.

The castle has hardly been altered in past centuries, so that the exterior of the building still largely appears as it did at the time of its construction. This is special because most country estates and manor houses were stylistically adapted to changing times and renewed or at least rebuilt and extended over the centuries. The apparent similarity of the courtyard side of Demerthin to the town facade of Königs Wusterhausen Castle, which also originated in the Mark Brandenburg and at approximately the same time, is interesting.