Forst, Lower Saxony

Domäne Forst stands in Bevern, a village in the Holzminden district of Lower Saxony. It began as a fortified seat of local government in the 15th century, moved from the ruined Everstein castle to a raised plot west of the settlement. The site once belonged to Corvey Abbey, which held most of the land in 980. By 1437 the Kannen family from Lügde owned eleven full farms and sixteen cottages here. After the move, fourteen farmers and cottagers were resettled to nearby Lütgenade.

The present buildings date mainly from the 16th century. A single stone structure, still called the ‘Schloss’, may be older and is the only one built of rubble masonry. A copperplate by Merian in 1654 shows a tower beside it. The remaining complex includes the old and new Amtshäuser, a granary and a brewhouse, all with timber-framed upper storeys on stone bases. Written records mention a curtain wall, toll house, gate, prison, chapel, summerhouse in the Weser garden and a large outlying farmstead that have since vanished.

Visitors walk past the stone ‘Schloss’ and the two Amtshäuser, where the timberwork shows the 16th-century style. The granary and brewhouse stand side by side, their ground floors of solid stone. Merian’s view shows how the tower once framed the entrance, though only its foundations remain. The site once controlled the Weser crossing and the old trade road, traces of which have been recognised in the landscape.