Old castles in East Germany face a new future

Germany, Brandenburg, County Oberspreewald-Lausitz, Lindenau. Long-standing legal dispute over Lindenau Castle ends in favor of the community: Lindenau Castle is once again in municipal ownership and is to be marketed. Monument-protected building in solid condition despite longstanding vacancy.

There are no isolated cases in countries with a socialist past: municipalities and associations fight against vacancy and decay of their local buildings and often encounter legal resistance due to complicated legal situations. Prominent examples of this are the Gutshaus Johannstorf in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern or Schloss Crossen an der Elster in Thüringen. Even in neighboring European countries such as Poland, unclear ownership issues or disagreements among heirs are causing many valuable historic buildings to fall asleep for many years.

Lindenau Castle: Abandoned for more than 20 years

For Schloss Lindenau in Upper Lusatia, a long-standing legal dispute has now come to a positive end for the community: since the private owner failed to fulfill contractual obligations and there was no restoration of the castle, he had to return the castle and park to the community of Lindenau. Lindenau is now looking for a suitable investor for the Renaissance castle and Brandenburg cultural monument. And there are already several prospective buyers who want to renovate Lindenau Castle and put it to a new use.

It could be worse: Building fabric of Lindenau Castle good

Local mayor Ralf Herrmann and the citizens of the small town in the Oberspreewald are visibly relieved after the court decision and hope that things are now moving forward quickly. After the castle had not been open to the public for many years, a first inspection and stock-taking caused a surprise; the building fabric is surprisingly good and dry. Despite its former use as a children's home, essential historical elements have been preserved: The entrance hall with its old tiles and cross-ribbed ceilings, historical fireplaces as well as parquet floors and baroque stucco ceilings in the larger rooms of the castle.

Estimated refurbishment costs in the 6-digit range

While the interior shows only minor damage so far, the exterior of the building in particular is in need of renovation. Despite the overall good condition of Schloss Lindenau, the renovation costs will be well into the 6-digit range. Therefore, the community wants to intensively deal with potential investors and carefully examine utilization concepts. The castle also includes a 23-hectare park. The community is basically open to the question of how the castle park is to be used in the future. However, it would be desirable for the castle and park to remain accessible to the population, at least temporarily.