Schloss Sommerswalde

Schloss Sommerswalde stands in the Schwante forest near Berlin, built between 1888 and 1891 for retired lieutenant Friedrich August Richard Sommer. The architects Hans Abesser and Jürgen Kröger designed the symmetrical ensemble of buildings in the style of the Reichstag’s early plans. The estate includes a neogothic residence, an oriental-style orangery, a former forester’s house and a brick stable with battlements. The main building once featured a dome removed in the 1920s for structural reasons. Sommer’s father had worked near the Brandenburg Gate, and the stable echoes the Red Town Hall where he served. After Sommer’s death in 1916 the property passed through several owners. The Free Soil agricultural co-operative took the farmland, while the lawyer Erich Lübbert bought the buildings and restored them as a family home. Soviet troops used the castle as a command post in 1945, then from 1949 to 1989 it housed the Alexei Maressjew FDJ school for pioneer leaders. During these decades the interiors and exteriors suffered heavy damage despite their listed status. After German reunification the site attracted various proposals before becoming a Buddhist monastery school in 2000. Today the Kadampa Meditationszentrum Deutschland occupies the restored castle. Visitors can walk freely through the surrounding park at any time. The centre offers meditation courses, weekend workshops and retreats. A café and shop open on weekends, and the site won the Brandenburg Heritage Award in 2010 for its careful renovation. The park remains open to the public every day, while the meditation programmes run throughout the year.