Bothmer Castle

Schloss Bothmer
Klütz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Schloss Bothmer, main building façade
Plan of the main buildings
Schloss Bothmer
Coordinates	53°57′34″N 11°09′33″E / 53.959444°N 11.159167°E / 53.959444; 11.159167Coordinates: 53°57′34″N 11°09′33″E / 53.959444°N 11.159167°E / 53.959444; 11.159167
Type	Schloss
Site information
Open to the public	Yes
Site history
Built	1726–32
Built by	Count Hans Caspar von Bothmer

Schloss Bothmer is a Baroque palatial manor house ensemble in northern Germany. It was built for Count Hans Caspar von Bothmer to designs by architect Johann Friedrich Künnecke in 1726–32. It remained the property of the Bothmer family until 1945. It is today owned by the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and, following a renovation in 2009–15, open to the public. It is the largest Baroque-era country house ensemble in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Schloss Bothmer, the manor and the grounds, was the brainchild of Count Hans Caspar von Bothmer. The manorial estate was created by buying land to form an entirely new estate, an undertaking that Bothmer undertook for ten years, between 1721 and 1731. Bothmer was active as a diplomat in service of the Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg and lived for long periods of time abroad, notably in London. Among other things, he played a role in helping his employer secure the British throne as George I of Great Britain. While in London from 1720 until his death in 1732, he lived at 10 Downing Street.

The buildings were designed by architect Johann Friedrich Künnecke, and built between 1726 and 1736. Bothmer never saw the finished product, but seems to have decided already during the middle of the 1720s that it should pass to his nephew Hans Caspar Gottfried von Bothmer (1695–1765) upon his own death. His will further stipulated that it should be inherited as fideikommis, i.e., that the oldest son in each generation should inherit the entire estate (thus avoiding the estate being split up between several heirs). Through the marriage of Hans Caspar Gottfried von Bothmer to Christine Margarete von Bülow (1708–1786), even more land was added to the estate. In 1900 the estate encompassed around 8,000 hectares (20,000 acres) The estate stayed within the family until 1945.

The family fled from the estate during early 1945, in the course of the final stages of World War II. The estate was taken over first by American, then British, and then lastly Soviet troops. After the war, the estate was confiscated by East German authorities and turned into a hospital. Hans Kaspar von Bothmer (1919–1946), nephew of the last owner, had stayed in the castle and worked in the hospital as a nurse until his death. In 1948, the hospital was converted into a retirement home for elderly and remained in that capacity until 1994. During this time, the buildings were substantially altered. Since 2008 the estate has been the property of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and is run by Staatlichen Schlössern, Parks und Gärten des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Castles, Parks, and Gardens office).