In Western Pomerania in the municipality of Groß Polzin lies one of the few preserved Renaissance buildings in the region, the Quilow moated castle. Shortly after the opening of the ground floor, we were allowed to take a look inside.
As I walk towards the moated castle, the question “where is the water?” comes to mind. At first I only see meadow. Only when you walk around the grounds do you discover the remains of the old moat. Large parts of the moat have been filled in. If you then stand at the “rest” of the moat and look towards Quilow Castle, you get the impression of a moated castle.
Quilow moated castle – a varied history
Until the end of the 15th century, the Quilow estate belonged to Stolpe Monastery. The von Owstin family acquired the area around 1485, and Roleff von Owstin built the moated castle between 1560 and 1570. It remained in the family for a long time and it was not until the male successors died out in 1855 that ownership changed briefly.
From 1885 to 1920, the building stood empty and parts of the grounds fell into disrepair. The last owner attempted to renovate and redesign the building until his expropriation.
In GDR times, the moated castle was completely redesigned. Flats were built in the building, the post office moved into rooms and even a gymnasium for the school was housed here. In addition, the complex was restored and parts of the moat were filled in at the same time.
After the political turnaround, the Quilow moated castle stood empty for a long time. The municipality tried to find buyers and, with the help of the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz (German Foundation for the Protection of Monuments), carried out the most important renovation work. When there were major signs of subsidence in the masonry, emergency securing was carried out and all measures initially came to a standstill. In 2007, the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Cultural Heritage Foundation took over the site. Since then, and with a great deal of financial support, the restoration work on the entire complex has been progressing step by step.
When we visited, an outbuilding with accommodation facilities was already almost finished. The ground floor in the castle had just been opened. There is a café here that can also be used as a meeting place and event area for the region.
Little discovery tour
We went on a little discovery tour of the moated castle and looked at the renovation and restoration work.
First we went up the newly built emergency staircase on the back side of the castle to the roof truss of the castle. Construction work is still going on here. The special feature of the roof truss is that it is a horizontal roof truss with so-called dwarf houses (above the south façade) according to the Upper Saxon model. Two dwarf houses are still preserved, which were built as half-timbering and are two-storeyed.
Here and in the entire castle, smaller and sometimes larger details of the old castle design were found during the renovation work. Now they are trying to design the reconstruction measures in such a way that it meets today’s requirements and the monument preservation measures.
Some of the rooms on the upper floor of the house have already been completed to such an extent that a small exhibition with information boards on the history of the moated castle and the surrounding area can be seen here.
Unfortunately, the tower at Quilow moated castle is not yet open to visitors. I would have loved to enjoy a view over the region from up there.
Now I am curious to see how the structural development in the moated castle will progress. I can imagine that a wonderful place will be created here where you can have a great time, not only in the beautiful café.
Only 1 year later
Almost exactly one year later, I was drawn to Quilow moated castle again. As part of the annual Midsummer Remise, one could take a look behind the doors of the castle.
The renovation work has progressed further. The rooms for the exhibition on the history of the complex are now open. The construction site in the attic is history. There is now an event room here, which is popular for music events.
This time we were able to take a look at the outbuilding. Here, the kitchen and the common room are finished. I found the wood-burning cooker particularly beautiful. The entire building, including the guest rooms, is heated with wood. The guest rooms are simple, very lovingly designed and invite you to spend the night.
Disclosure: The visit took place in the context of blogger trips to Western Pomerania. The report corresponds to my impressions and was written independently of the visit.
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