Groß Zecher Manor

Already in the Middle Ages, a motte-and-bailey castle named Boko, with a diameter of 15 meters and surrounded by a five-meter-wide moat, was located on a peninsula in Lake Schaalsee, the Zecherscher Werder. The family von Zülen, originating from Saxony, settled here and subsequently called themselves von Zecher. The castle was destroyed in 1349. In the 14th century, ownership passed to the von Carlow family, followed by the von Parkentin family in 1497. In 1691, the patrician family von Witzendorff from Lüneburg acquired the estate. Hieronymus von Witzendorff, privy councillor and chamber president, established a fideicommissum, which ensured the estate remained in the possession of the von Witzendorff family to this day. The Baroque manor house from 1720 was largely demolished in the early 19th century to make way for a new Neoclassical building, which was constructed using parts of the old substance.