Rittergut Knau

Schloss Knau is an old manor house in the village of Knau, part of Neustadt an der Orla in Thuringia. It began as a 14th-century estate tied to a monastery farm before Esaias von Brandenstein rebuilt it in the early 17th century as a Renaissance manor with two grand halls. Over the centuries the estate passed through noble hands, including the Hoym family, who added a new manor wing in the 18th century. In the 19th century it became a model farm, later housing agricultural research until a fire in 1992 destroyed parts of the complex. The buildings form a four-sided courtyard around a 16th-century rectangular block and a polygonal stair tower. The 1798 manor wing closes the south side, creating a symmetrical forecourt. Inside the older house a vaulted hall and a hall with a richly profiled ceiling survive, while the upper floor still shows traces of original painted decoration. The newer manor wing was heavily altered after 1945 for research use. Visitors walk through the quiet courtyard and enter the older block where the vaulted ground-floor hall and the first-floor hall with its timber ceiling can be seen. Upstairs, fragments of early 17th-century wall paintings remain on the walls. The manor wing houses later adaptations, but the overall layout still reflects its history as a working estate. The setting in rural Thuringia adds to the calm atmosphere of the place.