International youth meeting place Kreisau
The International Youth Meeting Center “Kreisau Foundation for European Understanding” (IYMC Kreisau) is located in the Polish village of Krzyżowa (Kreisau) about 60 kilometers southwest of Wroclaw .
The extensive estate was the seat of the von Moltke family until 1945 . The members of the Kreisau Circle around Helmuth James Graf von Moltke met at this historic location .
After the Second World War , the complex fell into disrepair, as the Polish socialist government did not like it that the German and also non-communist opposition was commemorated here. During this time the property was used as an agricultural cooperative (PGR). The individual houses still bear names such as cowshed, granary or horse stable today - following on from their agricultural use before and after the Second World War.
On November 12, 1989, the Polish Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki and the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl met at Gut Kreisau for a reconciliation fair. The already existing plans to fundamentally renovate the estate and to open an international youth meeting center enjoyed the backing of both governments from that point on. The renovation was financed mainly by the “ Foundation for German-Polish Cooperation ”. In 1998 the meeting place was officially opened. The widows Freya von Moltke , Clarita von Trott zu Solz and Rosemarie Reichwein as well as the protagonists of the reconciliation mass in 1989, Helmut Kohl and Tadeusz Mazowiecki, were present at the opening ceremony .
Since then, the several hectare estate has had many comfortably equipped guest rooms, both for youth groups and private individuals, a dining room (which was formerly used as a cowshed), a cafeteria, sports rooms and areas, conference rooms (with simultaneous translation system) and party rooms (with table tennis and billiards). The restored Kreisau Castle is also located on the site , with an exhibition on the history of resistance and opposition in the 20th century, including the Kreisau Circle. A little away from the castle there is a barbecue area.
About ten kilometers away Swidnica (Schweidnitz) with the famous Church of Peace , on the World Heritage List of UNESCO stands.
