Ernstfarm

The Ernstfarm stands on the edge of Coburg in the Scheuerfeld district. It was built in 1878 by order of Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, following advice from his brother Prince Albert. The farm was designed as a model agricultural estate inspired by English country houses of the Agricultural Movement. Its layout followed the principles of efficiency and hygiene that Albert had promoted through his own experimental farm near Windsor.

The farm’s buildings form a rectangular courtyard about 150 by 100 metres. The main structures include a tenant’s house with staff wings, stables for horses, cattle and pigs, and a long building housing feed kitchens and storage. A wooden barn and an additional later stable stand outside this enclosure. A system of cast-iron and sandstone pipes carried waste away to an underground pit, and a tall industrial chimney served a steam engine house and distillery. Only the original pigsty and the ground floor of the main building survive unchanged.

Today the estate sits amid working farmland. Visitors can still see the closed courtyard, the brick buildings with sandstone detailing, and the simple industrial style of the architecture. The tenant’s house now has a two-storey central section with a small clock gable, while the wings remain single-storey. Inside, iron tie-rods with decorative rosette heads highlight the original construction. The farm has been adapted for craft workshops, a restaurant and guest quarters, yet the historic character of the place remains clear.