Estate House "Field of Reeds"
In the small village of Rethwisch, which simply means “meadow with reeds”, there has been a noble estate since the late Middle Ages. Later, the Dukes of Holstein-Rethwisch, a collateral line of the Dukes of Holstein-Plön that only existed for 60 years, resided here for a short 30 years. Duke Joachim Ernst of Holstein-Plön had divided off the new principality, but retained it in personal union. On his death in 1671, the Rethwisch line became independent under his third son of the same name, who had the castle built in 1699. However, the last Duke of Rethwisch, Johann Adolf, died childless in 1729.
Although these petty princes only owned Rethwisch and a few surrounding villages, they wanted to reside in a manner befitting their rank and even had a mint built.
Today, only a small, inaccurate drawing and the floor plan of the castle remain, but according to one description, it must have been a four-winged building with a 34-metre high tower.
What remains in Rethwischfeld, however, is the abandoned manor house built in 1780 for the successor to the agricultural estate. Bourgeois owners acquired the estate house, which is often not quite correctly referred to as a “manor house”, in changing succession. During the last major renovation in 1925, the residential building was given its current staircase and a single-storey porch on the façade, which replaced the former central risalit.
Despite these alterations, however, the 18th century core is still recognizable to experts, and there are also some Baroque elements inside, for example stucco mouldings on the ceiling of one room and a rose window. Some decorative elements on the door leaves and a stove bear witness to the Wilhelminian period, and there is also an old fireplace. Some “rooms” would be better described as halls, for example a “billiard hall” on the upper floor measuring 70 square meters.
This stately home has been empty for a long time. The previous owner wanted to renovate it in keeping with the original style, removing all non-historical elements such as woodchip wallpaper, tiles from the 1950s and a marble bathroom, but then abandoned his plans.
Visited: December 26, 2020 and January 17, 2021
Location: Rethwischfeld, Germany
Status: Demolished
