Tour Report: Estate House "Field of Reeds" [Revisit]

Just three weeks after our first visit, we found ourselves returning to the old manor house once again.
Our initial exploration on Boxing Day, accompanied by my mother and mother-in-law, had been a wonderful experience.

Unfortunately, I hadn't brought my camera with me and had to rely on my aging phone for photographs. Since we still had a few weeks between our trips in early January and our planned holiday in mid-February, we decided to squeeze in one more small adventure.

A second visit - especially so soon after the first - is usually a rather relaxed affair. The surroundings are already familiar, and there are fewer surprises waiting around the next corner. Instead of focusing on navigation and orientation, you can fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the location.

This return to the abandoned manor was no exception. From the moment we arrived, everything felt comfortably familiar. And because we already knew the layout of the building - and this time weren't accompanying any first-time visitors - we could take our time and focus entirely on photography.

The weather was noticeably better than during our first visit. The sun occasionally broke through the clouds, casting beautiful shadows across the rooms and hallways and creating some wonderful opportunities for photographs.

For more than an hour and a half, we wandered through the manor once again, exploring every floor and revisiting our favourite rooms. Eventually, with memory cards full and another memorable exploration behind us, we headed home.

To find out more about the history and to check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.

Tour Report: Estate House "Field of Reeds"

I stumbled upon this old manor house from the late 18th century quite by accident during some research, and it immediately struck me as a perfect destination for our traditional post-Christmas outing with my mother and mother-in-law - not too far away, easy parking, and (hopefully) a straightforward way in.

Earlier that day, we had already visited a former school camp and an abandoned inn. Both explorations were successful in their own way, but from a photographic standpoint, neither location had much left to offer. So our hopes were now firmly set on the old manor.

From the nearby mill, it was just over a 30-minute drive. As we approached the village, we could already spot the tall wrought-iron fence and the overgrown park behind it. Then the manor itself came into view - imposing and elegant - and instantly sparked our curiosity.

As expected, parking was no issue. We could have stopped directly across from the property, but chose a slightly more discreet spot a bit further away and continued on foot.

Getting onto the grounds turned out to be no challenge at all, as there were several large gaps in the fence. Finding a way into the building was just as easy - there was an entrance at the back.

Once inside, I immediately regretted leaving my camera in the car and having to rely on my phone.

Parts of the manor were still in surprisingly good condition, with decorative elements from various periods clearly visible - remnants of the many renovations and alterations carried out by different owners over the centuries. Other rooms, however, had been almost completely stripped. The last owner had intended to restore the house to its original style, removing everything that didn’t fit the historical aesthetic - woodchip wallpaper and 1950s bathroom tiles among them.

Fortunately, aside from a bit of graffiti, there was relatively little vandalism, allowing us to truly appreciate much of the building’s historic character.

After about an hour, we had explored everything, and with the light already starting to fade, we began making our way back home.

I was a little disappointed that I had only taken photos with my phone—but we quickly agreed that we would return, properly equipped next time. So stay tuned for what we discovered just three weeks later!

To find out more about the history and to check out all the photos from this place, click the button below.

Tour Report: Knight's Manor "Blue Sky"

In August 2019, we visited an object that we had long had on our list, but never had the opportunity to visit until this point. It is an old manor whose history goes back a long way. The villa, to which the title "manor" has passed, was built in the late 19th century.

Initially used as an industrialist's villa, over time the building underwent many new uses - as a planned mothers' recreation home, as a Reich Labor Service camp, as a Red Army military hospital, as a school for judges, as a school for the FDJ travel agency, and as a pioneer leadership school.

After a fire devastated the attic in the summer of 2018 and the firefighting efforts caused further damage, we knew that the days of this beautiful building were numbered and included it in our plan for the next summer vacation.

It was a warm day and the journey was uneventful. However, finding a decent parking spot not too far from the property was significantly more difficult. We ended up parking somewhat awkwardly on the edge of an allotment. There were already a few other cars parked there, so we could hope not to attract further attention.

From there we walked along the road until we reached the wooded area that was once part of the magnificent park that surrounded the manor. Through this now very dense forest we crept up to the building from the back. We could hear that the farmed part of the estate was busy, so we kept extremely quiet as we searched for an entrance into the building. Fortunately, there was an open door that was out of sight and hidden by trees.

When we entered the building, we were on the one hand impressed by the princely looking rooms, but on the other hand a little disappointed, because due to the fire many rooms did not look like we had seen in older photos.

The main subject, however - the staircase - was still in quite good condition despite the fire and the extinguishing work. For this, the trip had been more than worth it! Even the ceiling painting, a blue sky with a stylized sun in the center, was still there apart from some damage.

In other rooms, the extinguishing water had caused quite nice decay, so that we could make our way to the next locaton with a good yield of pictures in our luggage.

To find out about the history of this place and to check out all the photos, click the button below.

Tour Report: Knight's Manor "The Blue Estate"

We're still looking back at our vacation in November of 2018. After a day of touring together with my mother-in-law, we spent the night at her place, before starting the next stage of our trip. On the way from the city of Kassel to our next destination in the Harz Mountains, we stopped to check out an abandoned castle in a small town situated in a valley between two low mountain ranges.

We wanted to check if there was any possibility to explore the beautiful old castle located on the northern edge of the village. As we drove up and saw the castle, our hearts started beating faster - what a beautiful building this was! At the same time, feelings of disappointment started creeping in, because we could already see that there was no way to get on the premises. A high wall and a large gate kept us from entering, and we did not want to sneak across various neighbor's lawns to check if there was a possibility to enter from the other side.

So we were almost ready to get back into the car and drive on to the next stop, when we saw an older man exit one of the outbuildings and walk across the courtyard. We called out to him, and it turned out that he was a kind of caretaker for the place. He lived in the outbuilding and was looking out for the castle because a new owner had bought the building and was planning to begin renovation soon.

We asked him if there was a possibility to get into the castle to take a few photos - and to our surprise, he said yes! Then he opened the gate, so we could park right in the courtyard. After we had gotten our gear out of the car, he unlocked the castle door and took us on a tour through the castle.

This guy was really nice. He was with us the entire time, told us about the history of the castle, told stories from the past and explained what was planned for the future. All in all, we were in there for about two and a half hours, and the caretaker managed to fill the entire time with a wealth of information while we took our photos. He seemed to really like us and the fact that we had a genuine interest in the place and its history. We could have stayed even longer, but we had a dinner engagement by the campfire for the evening - and one more spot to explore on the way...

To find hout about the history of this place and to check out all the photos, click the button below:

Tour Report: Knight's Manor W. [Revisti]

It must have been be the mountain air. Or maybe the relaxation that set in as soon as we had set foot in the camp the afternoon before. We'd had a lot to drink, but Pixelcracker and I managed to get up on time the next morning, have coffee and breakfast and still be on time to meet with the lady that was going to unlock an old abandoned mansion for us that we'd planned to explore that morning...

The weather hadn't played along. As we pulled up to the parking spot, it started raining a little. This rain was going to stay with us for the remainder of the tour.

That morning, it started out only a little, and we still had hopes that it would clear. We met the lady, who was a bit surprised to see me again only two months after my last visit there.

She didn't want to come back later to let us back out, so she left the key with us and told us to lock the gate and throw the key in the mailbox when we left.

We really took our time getting all the photos we wanted. That's the really good part about legal visits: You have all the time in the world, don't have to be afraid of getting caught and you can go outside from time to time and smoke a cigarette :)

I took the opportunity to shoot some angles that I'd missed the first time and I took some time just to wander around in the building without the camera.

After about two and a half hours, we were done taking photos, so we left the old manor house, locked the door and the main gate, threw the key in the mailbox as instructed and walked back to the car.

The rain had gotten a bit stronger, but there were more places to explore...

To check out all the photos from this place and to find out about its history, click the button below.

Tour Report: Knight's Manor "Friendly Neighbor"

I had come across this former knight's manor in deepest Saxony while planning the summer tour 2017 together with my wife. We didn't have high hopes to gain access.
Located on a street corner in the middle of a residential area, partly surrounded with a stone wall - it didn't look like there was any chance of entering this place. But since it was on the way, of course we drove by to check it out
It looked just as we had expected - no chance to get inside.

At the end of the street, some neighbors were gathered around a workbench and apparently discussed ongoing construction on one of their homes. Asking won't hurt, I thought, and I went over to the people, introduced myself politely and asked if they knew if it was possible to enter the old manor house to take some photos.
To my great surprise, the answer was, "That might be possible, ask the lady across the street." Said and done - I went to the house right across the street, rang, and a lady of about 65 years opened the doot. Again, I introduced myself and asked for access to the manor.
Her answer: "Oh sure! Wait  a moment while I get the key from my husband."
Wow.
Just like that! Were we in, and she left us alone. After about 5 minutes, she came back, because she had probably become a little unsure with two strangers in the house, and she asked us a little further what we actually planned to do with the pictures etc.
During the conversation that followed, it turned out that about 5 years before our visit, she and her husband had received the key from the then 80-year-old owner from somwhere farther away with the request to watch over the house. Since then, the owner hadn't been heard from or seen again, and no one knows what happened to him.

Anyway, the lady herself had also been a resident of one of the apartments that had been built into the manor during the time of the German separation and, she was able to tell us a lot about it.

And the moral of the story: Once again, it tunred out that an open and friendly demeanour sometimes does lead to the goal - and that in fact friendly neighbors do exist!


To check out all the photos from this place and to find out about its history, click the button below.