Kürbitz
Kürbitz is a former municipality in the district of Vogtlandkreis in Saxony in Germany located near Plauen. On 1 January 1999, the village was merged into the municipality Weischlitz
Weischlitz is a municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, i ...
, in
Vogtland
Vogtland (; ) is a region spanning the German states of Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia and north-western Bohemia in the Czech Republic. It overlaps with and is largely contained within Euroregio Egrensis. The name alludes to the former leadershi ...
, was a manor of the family of Feilitzsch; only a part of the mansion is extant.
History
Approximately 1300 AD, the Feilitzsch family, named after its ancestral seat near the town of Hof, was one of the large landowners in Kürbitz. In the late 15th century, Jobst of Feilitzsch acquired a number of local estates and founded the feudal estate of Kürbitz. A former
water castle
A water castle, sometimes water-castle, is a castle which incorporates a natural or artificial body of water into its defences.Forde-Johnston (1979), p. 163. It can be entirely surrounded by water-filled moats (moated castle) or natural waterbo ...
, this
fortified house
A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. During the earlier Roman Empire, Roman period it was common for wealthy landowner ...
at a crossing of the
White Elster
The White Elster (, ) is a river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into easte ...
river later became the mansion of the feudal estate. Until 1945, the estate was in the possession of the family. A prominent personality in the history of the property was Urban Caspar, Baron of Feilitzsch, Margravial Brandenburgian Privy Councillor,
chancellor
Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
and fief judge. In the 17th century he permitted building alterations to turn the structure into a residential castle, establishing the building form which is still recognizable today. The original medieval residential tower bears an overhanging
half-timbered
Timber framing () and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy Beam (structure), timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and Woodworking joints, joined timbers with joints secure ...
superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships.
Aboard ships and large boats
On water craft, the superstruct ...
with a precipitous gable roof. At the beginning of the 19th century the building was enlarged on the northern and eastern sides with hipped roof extensions. The
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
room arrangement inside the house was preserved in essentials. The building was renovated from 1936 to 1938. After the end of World War II the mansion provided housing for expellees. In 1961 the former potato distillery was destroyed by fire due to negligence. Empty economic buildings on the area of the feudal estate went to ruin and were finally torn down. The upper part of the mansion was used as habitation until 1987. The rooms on the ground floor were used as a school kitchen and a local library.
On November 11, 1987, a devastating fire ravaged the upper floor and roof. An immense effort saved the mansion from complete destruction. Soon thereafter, committed inhabitants of Kürbitz installed a temporary roof and thus protected the building from weather decay for the next 20 years.
After
German reunification
German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...
Joachim Baron von Feilitzsch attended to the residence of his forefathers. Since 2005 a booster club has been active to rescue and preserve it. The ''Förderverein Rittergut Kürbitz e.V.'' leased the manor house from the community of
Weischlitz
Weischlitz is a municipality in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany. It absorbed the former municipalities Kloschwitz and Kürbitz in 1999, Burgstein in 2011, and Reuth, Saxony, Reuth in 2017. /ref>