Tralau Castle
The Castle Tralau located in the municipality Travenbrück in southern Schleswig-Holstein . As the main building of the former noble estate on Tralau, it is actually a mansion , but due to its picturesque shape it has been called a castle for some time . The building from the 19th century is privately owned.
historical overview
The first documentary mention of the area, which was inhabited in the early days , can be dated to 1197. Tralau - the name is of Wendish origin - was in the Middle Ages in the border region between the Saxon and Wendish areas and served with a rampart for border security. A knight dynasty that was enfeoffed by the Schauenburgers and named after the residence remained there with different lines until the beginning of the 15th century. In 1444 the long-established Brockdorff family took over the property, which was subsequently expanded from the manor to an estate. The Brockdorff stayed on Tralau for around two centuries, then in 1647 they were followed by a branch of the ancient Rantzau family , who sold the estate again in 1702. The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by numerous changes of ownership and the abandonment of serfdom towards temporary leases . The more important owners at that time included the dukes of Plön from 1754 to 1781 and the Buchwaldt family from 1824 to 1855 . In 1890, Tralau came into the possession of the Jenisch family, who had today's manor house built; further changes of ownership followed in the 20th century. In 1932 the estate went to the painter Otto Graf Kerssenbrock, in whose family it remained for the next few decades.
During the Second World War and afterwards Tralau was used to accommodate bombed-out people and refugees from eastern Germany. The estate was gradually reduced in size through the parceling and sale of the land, and the manor house later served as a retirement home for a few years. Tralau is still privately owned and inhabited, the manor house is not accessible and cannot be visited.
Buildings
Mansion
Today's Tralau Castle is the successor to a medieval moated castle and a two-story mansion built at the beginning of the 19th century, which had to be demolished in 1893 after a fire. The new manor house was built in the style diversity of the outgoing historicism and combines forms of Gothic , Northern Renaissance and Art Nouveau . The house, in its dimensions more like a typical Wilhelminian style villa , was given a castle-like appearance and was consciously fitted into the gently rolling landscape. The mansion has two full floors and a high tower, which acts as a viewing tower and allows a view over the park-like surroundings. The wall-mounted interior with paneling and ceiling paintings is based on the neo-Renaissance model.
The picturesque castle, which consists of different structures and features high ornamental gables , was extended to the east by three window axes at the beginning of the 20th century and received a second tower on the garden side; Extensions that have recently been dismantled so that Tralau is now back in its original state.
Estate and garden
Around the castle, the remains of the former farm yard with its outbuildings have been preserved, while the estate management on Tralau no longer plays an important role. At the end of the courtyard is a former inspector's house, which was converted into a residential house under Count Kerssenbrock and which is sometimes referred to as the New Manor House .
The gardens were designed in the style of English landscape gardens . With its bodies of water and groups of trees, it forms the stylistically appropriate framework for the multifaceted manor house, creating an ensemble in the spirit of romanticism . Like the castle, the garden is privately owned and not open to the public.
literature
- Hubertus Neuschäffer: Schleswig-Holstein's castles and mansions. Husum 1989, ISBN 3-88042-462-4 .
- Dehio: Handbook of the German Art Monuments Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-422-03033-6 .
- Deert Lafrenz: manors and manors in Schleswig-Holstein. Published by the State Office for Monument Preservation Schleswig-Holstein. Michael Imhof Verlag, Petersberg 2015, 2nd edition, ISBN 978-3-86568-971-9 , p. 586.
Coordinates: 53 ° 50 ′ 16.7 " N , 10 ° 18 ′ 17.4" E