Hohenschönhausen Castle (German: ''Schloss Hohenschönhausen'' or ''Bürgerschloss Hohenschönhausen'') is a

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Alt-Hohenschönhausen Alt-Hohenschönhausen (, literally ''Old Hohenschönhausen'') is a quarter (''Ortsteil'') in the borough (''Bezirk'') of Lichtenberg, Berlin. Known also as Hohenschönhausen it was, until 2001, the main and the eponymous locality of the former Ho ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is owned by the ''Association Hohenschönhausen Castle'' and listed in the heritage registers of Berlin.

History

13th to 20th century

The first buildings on today's castle area were erected between the 13th and 15th century and inhabited by a Schultheiss family. At the end of the 15th century the noble family ''von Röbel'' built a manor house on the area, which was bought by the merchant Adam Ebersbach on July 2, 1736. In 1817 it was bought by the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n Friedrich Scharnweber, a close employee of Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg, in 1890 it was sold to the banker Henry Suermondt and parceled out. In 1893 the manor house and its area were bought by the merchant Gerhard Puchmüller, who changed the structure of building. Moreover, the vestibule was decorated with paintings during that time. From 1910 to 1929 the German

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

and inventor Paul Schmidt was the last private owner of the castle. In 1930 the manor house became the property of the city and was first used by social institutions. From 1945 to 1989 a maternity hospital was housed in it. In 1993/94 the city wanted to open a local museum in the castle, but the plan failed due to financial difficulties.

21st century: Cultural use

In 1998 the ''Association Hohenschönhausen Castle'' was founded, which bought the whole area in February 2008 and since then cares for the restoration and cultural revitalization of the manor house. The Association regularly organizes different events in the castle, such as exhibitions, readings, and concerts. Among the known personalities who give performances at Hohenschönhausen Castle are, inter alia, the former figure skating world champion

Christine Errath Christine Errath (later Trettin then Stüber, born 29 December 1956) is a German former figure skater who represented East Germany in competition. She is the 1976 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1974 World champion, and a three-time European c ...

and the Austrian classical guitarist

Johanna Beisteiner Johanna Beisteiner (born 20 February 1976) is an Austrian classical guitarist, singer and arranger. Life Johanna Beisteiner received her first guitar lessons at the age of nine at the Josef Matthias Hauer music school in her hometown Wien ...

, who is also an Honorary member of the ''Association Hohenschönhausen Castle''.''Johanna Beisteiner: Biography''
. Official Website of Johanna Beisteiner. July 2011.

Literature

* Ruben, Bärbel: ''Manor house Hohenschönhausen – An endless story of a castle / Das Gutshaus Hohenschönhausen – Eine unendliche Schloßgeschichte'' (German). Decent Editions.

Blumberg For the town in South Australia previously called Blumberg, see Birdwood, South Australia. Blumberg is a municipality situated in the Schwarzwald-Baar region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Nineteen kilometres south of Donaueschingen, it li ...

, 1998. . * Meyerhöfer, Rolf: ''Hohenschönhausen Castle in the eyes of the local press / Das Schloss Hohenschönhausen im Spiegel der Lokalzeitungen'' (German). Hohenschönhausener Kalenderblätter, No. 9, (2nd edition).

, September 2001.

References

External links

''Cultural heritage registers Berlin''. January 14, 2011. (No. 09045463)

Official Website of the Association Hohenschönhausen CastleHohenschönhausen Castle in the German museum directory.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hohenschonhausen Castle Houses completed in the 19th century Buildings and structures in Lichtenberg Museums in Berlin Manor houses in Germany Houses in Berlin