Kartlow Castle

Castle

In the estate of the architect Friedrich Hitzig, there are no references to Kartlow Castle. However, comparisons with other manor houses, such as Bredenfelde Castle, which was demonstrably designed by Hitzig, show a high degree of congruence. The publisher Alexander Duncker named Hitzig as the builder of Kartlow.

Architecture

Chambord Castle in France is considered an architectural model. However, in contrast, the outstanding feature of the manor house, built in Renaissance style with Neo-Gothic elements, is its asymmetry. This also contrasts with the symmetry of the majority of country houses, which were often built in the Classical style. The combination of different building components with various decorative elements, which nevertheless lead to a cohesive overall effect, is interesting.

Characteristic of the manor house are the three towers and the various gables. Especially the large southwestern tower with an octagonal floor plan dominates the building. The rectangular northeastern tower, which also has an octagonal floor plan above the roof, contains a clock visible from the farmyard. The smallest, northwestern tower has a circular cross-section.

On the western side, facing the park, there is a terrace that occupies almost the entire width. The winter garden that was formerly here, located in front of the western windows of the ballroom, no longer exists.

Interior Design

The main entrance is on the east side, facing the former farmyard, and was built in the form of a portico hall, the upper floor of which is accessible as a balcony. Inside the entrance hall, several wall paintings have been preserved. These had been whitewashed shortly after the end of the Second World War. In 1986, their uncovering and restoration began. The paintings, executed in wax painting, include a depiction of Moses with the golden calf at his feet and Boniface in bishop's robes with the Donar Oak he felled. These are copies of two paintings by the artist Wilhelm von Kaulbach, whose originals were destroyed in Berlin during the Second World War. A third painting opposite the entrance shows Martin Luther sitting at a desk. The fourth mural is an allegory of the legend. Eight medallions depict portraits of important figures of the Reformation era. The portrait head of Martin Luther is also on a stucco relief above the entrance to the gentlemen's room. Above the opposite door to the dining room, a second relief with the portrait of Ulrich von Hutten is affixed.

Much of the interior furnishings were lost after 1945. For example, the wooden wall paneling of most rooms on the main floor and a marble fireplace are missing. The restoration of the coffered ceiling with stucco elements in the ballroom has already been completed.

No furniture remains. Only several tureens from a multi-part service, manufactured in the Royal Prussian Porcelain Manufactory, which were buried in Kartlow in 1945, are now on loan at the Demmin District Local History Museum. The service, a gift from Frederick the Great to Major General Otto Leopold Ehrenreich von Gloeden, came into the von Heyden family in 1803 as part of a dowry.

Further wall paintings depicting women in various stages of life are located in the large ladies' room. The scenes with literary interpretations belonged to the style of the "poet's rooms" popular in the 19th century. The depictions are based on works by the painters Eduard Bendemann, Moritz von Schwind, and Wilhelm von Kaulbach. The paintings were only rediscovered in the mid-20th century under old wallpapers, with which they had already been covered in 1885.

Park

A tracing of Lenné's park design has been preserved. It comes from his employee Gerhard Koeber and is dated 1840. The park was designed over a period of two decades. At this time, the ponds located in the park also took on their current form. The now tall beech and maple trees west of the ponds were not part of Lenné's design; they were probably planted in the last decades of the 19th century. The area south of the manor house, where a sports field was built during the GDR era, had also been planted at that time. In contrast to today, the castle remained largely hidden from travelers.

In the post-war years, firewood was harvested in the park, and many castle residents built sheds to store their belongings. In the 1960s, an open-air stage was built, the remains of which were removed in June 2007. Potatoes were grown in the castle nursery. Drainage measures carried out at that time reduced the fresh water supply to the ponds, which were previously also used for carp breeding, causing them to silt up.

Farmyard

A fire destroyed the old farmyard in 1800, then still located west between the ponds and the old manor house. By 1820, it was rebuilt east of the house. At the end of the 19th century, a sawmill was added. The farm horse stable also housed the rooms of the estate administration, where three new farmer families were accommodated after 1945. Later, the municipal administration was also located here, and after the founding of the LPG in 1955, it had its offices there. A barn was dismantled to obtain building materials for new farmers' houses, and two other buildings fell victim to fires. Several stable buildings are still present, but some are in severe disrepair.