Rittergut Brandenstein

Rittergut Brandenstein stands at the south-eastern edge of the town of Möckern in the Jerichower Land district of Saxony-Anhalt. It is a protected historic building, entered in the local monument register under number 094 76224. The estate is also known as Herrenhaus Brandenstein or Schloss Brandenstein. The complex includes a four-sided courtyard, a steward’s house, outbuildings, a park with a grotto and a chapel built in 1911. The estate belonged to the von Arnim family from the early 16th century. Among its owners were Lippold II von Arnim, royal councillor and district captain, and his descendant Hans Ernst von Arnim-Theesen. In the 1920s Anna von Arnim administered the estate, which then comprised 1 660 hectares. The present house was built in 1900 in Jugendstil style and remained in family hands until 1945. After use as a children’s home it was returned to the family in 1992. The single-storey front of the house has a central projection and a round tower at the north end bearing the couple’s coat of arms. At the south end is an octagonal pavilion. The garden front is two storeys high, topped by a wide archway. Inside, most rooms feature coffered ceilings, stucco work and wood panelling. The cellar houses the forestry administration offices, and the family still lives in the house today.