Kathlow

Kathlow Kótłow Municipality Neuhausen / Spree
Coordinates: 51 ° 44 ′ 0 ″  N , 14 ° 29 ′ 0 ″  E
Height :	81 m above sea level NN
Area :	20 km²
Residents :	123  (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	6 inhabitants / km²
Incorporation :	September 19, 2004
Postal code :	03058
Area code :	035694
Location of Kathlow in Brandenburg

Kathlow ( Kótłow in Lower Sorbian , derived from "Kessel") is a district of the Neuhausen / Spree community in the Spree-Neisse district in Brandenburg .

The first written mention of Kathlow goes back to the year 1434, then with the name Catlow. From 1434 to 1782 Kathlow was owned by the von Pannwitz family .

Location and accessibility

Kathlow is located on the state road 49 (formerly B 122 ) between Cottbus and Forst / Lausitz not far from the Jänschwalde opencast mine, about ten kilometers northeast of Neuhausen.

Mayor and population

The mayor is Olaf Wieder, his deputies are Karsten Latzke and Susan Schäfer.

The district has 123 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018).

coat of arms

The coat of arms was created in 2016 after research by Hartmut Schatte. It is divided into three areas. In the left white field is the symbol of a tower hill, which has existed as a protective and stronghold since at least the 14th century. The church bell from 1497 in the upper right field embodies the existence of a small chapel as early as the Middle Ages. The lower blue field indicates the abundance of water and fish in the district, the water wheel on it indicates the district and the Kathlower Mühle production facility. The colors red and blue (or black) refer to the centuries of ownership history of the von Pannwitz family .

Wasserschloss Kathlow

To protect the place, the Kathlower Herren built a moated castle, which in its original form was classified as an early German tower hill (monument no. 156). With the advent of the iron cannons at the end of the 15th century, castles increasingly lost their importance and were converted into comfortable homes. At the beginning the tower entrance was several meters high and could only be reached via a ladder that could easily be pulled in in the event of danger. The later moated castle had a ground-level gate. In the earliest times, the moated castle was enclosed by a moat more than seven meters wide. The outer walls of the building were about two meters thick, the inner walls about one meter thick.

Over time, the castle deteriorated more and more. A newspaper report from the 1930s only mentions a “ruin of a former castle”. At that time only the foundation walls were still standing.

The archaeologist and monument conservationist Günter Wetzel inspected the ruins in 1967 and test excavations were carried out in 1972.

Today only the cellar of the former moated castle has been preserved, but not accessible.

Kathlow Chapel

In the 19th century the Protestant chapel was rebuilt in a neo-Romanesque style. The funds for this came from the “von Schöning Foundation”. The foundation is named after the then landowner of Sergen and Kathlow, Carl August von Schöning (1773–1807). The goods came from the possession of Anton von Pannwitz (1723–1782), whose marriage to Anna Helene von Schöning had remained childless and were passed on to her son through her. Carl August von Schöning also died childless in Sergen and his property passed to the foundation he had set up. Today the chapel is owned by the Neuhausen / Spree community . The chapel's bell dates from the 15th century and was used as a fire alarm bell until the war. Only after the Second World War was it used to replace the melted down chapel bell.

During the Second World War the chapel room served as a hospital. However, the building was hit by a grenade during the fighting for Kathlow, causing considerable damage to the facade and the interior of the chapel. These were makeshift repairs, and the damaged area in the interior was still visible for a long time. Since the chapel benches were used as firewood during the war, six new benches had to be made after the end of the war, which are still in use today.

In the post-war years, the attic of the chapel was used to dry tobacco, which the farmers had to quarry on their fields due to government coercion.

Kathlow belonged to the church district of Kahren and regular services were held in the chapel until 1973. After 1973 the chapel began to slowly decay.

Since August 17, 1997, the bones of Christoph von Pannwitz and his wife Katharina, who died in childbirth at the age of 23, together with Eva Lucretia von Pannwitz, found their final resting place in the Kathlower Kapelle. They were discovered during excavation work for a residential building and exposed. With the roof renovation in 2005, the chapel was brought back to life. Since then, musical and cultural events have taken place regularly. The tradition includes an annual Advent singing and a festival in the summer months with changing themes. Artists, choirs, singers and soloists also use the band as a platform.

In addition, a true to original restoration of the interior in the Schinkel style, the sacristy , the interior staircase, the patronage boxes , the bell and the windows took place in 2008 . In 2010 the entrance door and in 2013 the outside area could be renewed. In 2014, the renovation was completed with the restoration of the original wooden coffered ceiling. On April 22nd, 2014 the chapel was struck by lightning. There was severe damage to the electrical system, but luckily there was no fire.

Since 2015 the chapel can again be used for civil weddings .

Web links

• Citizen information brochure Neuhausen / Spree. 2017. 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Neuhausen / Spree - Kathlow community. In: neuhausen-spree.de. Retrieved April 5, 2015 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Hartmut Schatte: Silesian Heaven and Lusatian Earth . Ed .: Hartmut Schatte. REGIA-Verlag, ISBN 978-3-86929-328-8 , p. 236 .