Noer Castle

The Castle

According to an old definition, only the buildings of the regional rulers in Schleswig and Holstein were actually called castles; the residences of the landed gentry, to which Noer belongs, were therefore to be referred to as manor houses. However, this rule was not universally applied, including in Noer, which also came into royal possession in the 19th century through Princess Louise Auguste and is known to this day as Schloss Noer.

The current castle, in its basic features, still originates from the building that was constructed under Joachim von Brockdorff from 1708 to 1711, along with the courtyard complex. The building was extended and rebuilt several times over the centuries; for example, the side towers were only added at the beginning of the 20th century. The central part of the castle was largely destroyed in a fire in 1933 and subsequently rebuilt in an approximately Baroque style, based on its old form, with the shape of the roof simplified. It is a broadly laid out, two-story building with thirteen window axes, whose narrow sides are flanked by a three-story tower each. The representative show facade faces the courtyard and is adorned with a segmental pediment; the main portal is located under a central portico. The rear facade faces the garden and largely dispenses with architectural ornamentation. Inside, the old room layout was preserved even after the fire, although due to its current use, there are hardly any traces of the original furnishings. The most important interior room is the garden hall, which follows the vestibule, whose wall paneling decorated in the Zopfstil dates from the second half of the 18th century. Some smaller salons with Rococo-style stucco were restored after the fire.

The Courtyard Complex and the Park

Opposite the castle, several 18th-century buildings are preserved, which were created together with the new construction of the courtyard complex at that time. These are the so-called Inspector's House and the Riding Stable, which have now been incorporated into the operation of the meeting center and serve as leisure and accommodation houses.

West of the castle is an English-style landscape garden that extends into the nearby forest area and from there to the Eckernförde Bay. The garden complex also serves the meeting center today. The park is structured with lawns and groups of trees; a small mausoleum was built as contemporary garden architecture in the second half of the 19th century. This building was designed by Heinrich Moldenschardt, a student of Semper, and served as the burial place for Count Friedrich Carl August von Noer and his wife Carmelita.