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 usually held the lord's manorial courts, communal mea ...

in the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, 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 ...

Alt-Hohenschönhausen Alt-Hohenschönhausen (, ) is a locality (''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 Hohenschönhausen borough. In 2008 t ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

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

History

13th to 20th century

The first buildings in 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 in 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: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

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 the 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 in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...

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 ch ...

and the Austrian classical guitarist

Johanna Beisteiner Johanna Beisteiner (born 20 February 1976) is an Austrian classical guitarist, Singing, singer, Acting, actress and Arrangement, arranger. Life Johanna Beisteiner received her first guitar lessons at the age of nine at the Josef Matthias ...

, 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 Blumberg () is a municipality situated in the Schwarzwald-Baar region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. south of Donaueschingen, it lies between the southern edge of the ''Schwarzwald'', the Black Forest, the border with Switzerland's Canton of Sc ...

, 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