Schloss Tamsel is a significant historical estate in the

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

Neumark The Neumark (), also known as the New March ( pl, Nowa Marchia) or as East Brandenburg (), was a region of the Margraviate of Brandenburg and its successors located east of the Oder River in territory which became part of Poland in 1945. Calle ...

region. The estate is located in what is today the small village of Dąbroszyn, Poland, and consists of 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 ...

, a church and a park. It was constructed in the late 17th century by

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Hans Adam von Schöning Hans Adam von Schöning (1 October 1641 – 28 August 1696) was a ''Generalfeldmarschall'' in the service of Brandenburg-Prussia and the Electorate of Saxony. Schöning was born at Tamsel near Küstrin in the Margraviate of Brandenburg. He was ...

. His granddaughter, Luise Eleonore, inherited the castle as a child of four and married

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

von Wreech at age 16.

Overview

The estate was closely associated during the 18th century with

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

. As

Crown Prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

, Frederick was stationed by his father in Küstrin, 5 km south-east of Tamsel along the

Oder river The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

. Between August 1731 and February 1732, the Prince was a guest at Tamsel, and became clearly infatuated with the 24-year-old Frau von Wreech shortly before his reluctant marriage. In his letters, the Prince referred to Tamsel as ' Calypso's island'. 25 years later, after a nearby battle

Battle of Zorndorf The Battle of Zorndorf, during the Seven Years' War, was fought on 25 August 1758 between Russian troops commanded by Count William Fermor and a Prussian army commanded by King Frederick the Great. The battle was tactically inconclusive, with b ...

with Russian forces on 30 August 1758, King Frederick visited Tamsel once again. The estate had been looted and burned, and several children and teachers killed. In May 1840, on the hundredth anniversary of Frederick II's accession to the throne, a statue was erected in the park to honour the King and his ties to Tamsel. The statue is a replica of

Christian Daniel Rauch Christian Daniel Rauch (2 January 1777 – 3 December 1857) was a German sculptor. He founded the Berlin school of sculpture, and was the foremost German sculptor of the 19th century. Life Rauch was born at Arolsen in the Principality of ...

's "Victoria" and the pedestal is inscribed with the text of

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...

3:27: "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke of his youth." After the last of the male Wreeches died without heirs, the castle passed into the ownership of a daughter of Luise Eleonore, who married Count Doenhoff. In 1945 the castle was briefly the headquarters of the

Soviet Marshal Marshal of the Soviet Union (russian: Маршал Советского Союза, Marshal sovetskogo soyuza, ) was the highest military rank of the Soviet Union. The rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union was created in 1935 and abolished in 19 ...

Georgy Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

. The estate was largely spared damage during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and EU funding in the late 1990s has been used for its partial restoration. The building is today partially empty, with areas used for a

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

and

lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known toda ...

devotes a chapter to the estate and chapel in his ''Walks through the March of Brandenburg'', Vol II "Oderland". Hans Bentzien's ''My blackbird sings in Tamsel'' is a small illustrated volume, providing a history of Brandenburg and Tamsel.

Tamsel Chapel

The estate's chapel incorporates a Hall of Fame for Schöning, with its left transept holding statues, arms, and trophies. A double niche there hosts large stone statues of Field Marshal

and his wife. To the left is a marble bust of their son ( Johann Ludwig von Schöning, 1675–1713). Hans Adam von Schöning's large, copper coffin is also held in the chapel. It is decorated with a golden (or silver) crucifix and the family emblem, and the walls are decorated with flags inscribed:

Der hochwohlgeborene Herr, Herr Hans Adam von Schöning auf Tamsel, Warnick, Birkholz, Churf. Sächs. wohlbestallt gewesener General-Feldmarschall, wirklich Geheimer und Geheimer Kriegsrath, Obrister der Leibgarde zu Fuß, wie auch über ein Regiment Cürassiers und ein Regiment Dragoners, ward geboren zu Tamsel den 1. Oktober 1641, starb selig zu Dresden, den 28. August 1696.

The honorable gentleman, Mr. Hans Adam von Schöning on Tamsel, Warnick, Birkholz, Churf. Saxon. comfortably installed before in the General Field Marshal, and Privy council Privy really, colonel of the Guards on foot, as well as a regiment and a regiment of dragoon Cürassiers, was born to the first Tamsel October 1641, died blessed to Dresden, 28 August 1696.

Other notable coffins are those of Wreech's wife Eleonore Luise, who died at age 60, and of her sons, Friedrich Wilhelm von Wreich and Ludwig Graf von Wreich, the last two Wreeches.

Notes

External links

www.dabroszyn.pl

360 Tamsel.pdf
{{coord, 52.6206, N, 14.7061, E, source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Castles in Lubusz Voivodeship Gorzów County History of Brandenburg Castles in Brandenburg Palaces in Brandenburg