The historical site of Reitwein manor house

In the early 1670s, the lord of the manor Joachim Erdmann von Burgsdorff built Reitwein manor house including a median risalit, which emphasises symmetry. Portly puttos by the entrance portal pointed visitors to two coats of arms: you were about to enter the house of the von Burgsdorffs and of the von Schliebens. 


While the substance of the Baroque manor house was not destroyed during the war, the building was not in line with the ideology of the socialist workers' and peasants' state. In the post-war years, the manor house was used to house refugees and store fertiliser. When the first wrecking ball hit the north façade in the 1960s, the other side of the building was still inhabited.

Today, a hornbeam hedge runs along the outline of the manor house, which helps visitors imagine what it might have looked like. Boards provide information about the history of Reitwein and the destroyed building. But the memories have survived: for example of the most eminent visitor the manor house and Reitwein have ever received. None other than Frederick the Great set up camp here during the Seven Years' War. In 1759, the Prussian army suffered a devastating defeat near Kunersdorf. Having suffered great losses and his military severely weakened, the king expected the downfall of Prussia. King Frederick II spent the first days after the battle, momentous days for him and for the fate of Prussia, at Reitwein manor house.


There is now a carved boulder where the billiard room once stood. It dates from a time when sun loungers were built to last forever, and the year carved into the backrest tells us that this was 1684. The occasion for this strenuous masonry effort is likely to have been the wedding of the daughter of the lord of the manor, Margaretha von Burgsdorff. If you sit on the lounger, you'll be surprised how comfortable it is and warm it feels on your back when the sun has warmed it up.