Hubertusstock Castle

The Hubertusstock Hunting Lodge (Haus Hubertusstock) was the official hunting residence of the German head of state during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. Due to its representative functions, the term Hubertusstock Hunting Castle became common.

The hunting lodge, located on Lake Werbellin in the Schorfheide, a landscape in the state of Brandenburg, was built from 1847 to 1849 on behalf of the Prussian King Frederick William IV in the Bavarian or Swiss country house style in honor of his wife, a daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria. The simple building served as accommodation for court hunting parties. During the absence of the residents, the estate was managed by court officials, servants, and craftsmen. Interested visitors could view the building for an entrance fee of 25 Pfennig.

From 1869 onwards, representative aristocratic hunts were organized, and high-ranking guests were invited.

In 1898, the hunting lodge received a railway connection by imperial order: the Kaiserbahnhof Joachimsthal was built.

Together with the outbuilding and the surrounding forests, the hunting lodge belonged to the Prussian State Forests. Until the fall of the monarchy in the November Revolution of 1918, the hunting lodge was owned by the Prussian ruling family of the Hohenzollerns. With the revolution, Hubertusstock initially became national property for a short time. Afterwards, the hunting lodge fell to the Crown Estate Administration of the formerly ruling royal house. In 1926, Hubertusstock was transferred to the state of Prussia. During the Weimar Republic, Reich Presidents Friedrich Ebert and Paul von Hindenburg used the building as quarters during their hunting trips to the Schorfheide. The hunted animals mainly included roe deer and red deer. After Hindenburg's death, Adolf Hitler made the hunting lodge available to the head of the Reich Chancellery, Hans Heinrich Lammers, as a weekend house and finally gifted it to him in 1944.

After the Second World War, with the founding of the GDR, the hunting lodge became public property and was used by the state of Brandenburg as the country residence of the Minister President. Maintenance and care were carried out at that time by the responsible head forester of the Grimnitz forestry office. After the dissolution of the states in the GDR, the Ministry of the Interior took over the building complex in 1952 and used it until 1971 as a recreation home for higher ranks.

The reconstruction completed in 1973 on the old foundations served as a government guesthouse until the end of the GDR. The old separate outbuilding was also demolished. In its place, four two-story guest bungalows with flat roofs were built, as well as a multi-purpose building with a swimming pool, sauna, sports rooms, and a shooting range.

The telecommunications (telecommunication) security of the Hubertusstock hunting lodge (except for protocol events) was the responsibility of the head of the Main Communications Center of the Ministry of National Defense. The guarding of the Hubertusstock object was the responsibility of the Ministry for State Security.

In the following years, numerous meetings with foreign politicians took place in Hubertusstock. Among others, Erich Honecker, Chairman of the State Council of the GDR, and the then West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt met here in December 1981.

After reunification in 1990, Hubertusstock was no longer used by the state and was for sale for several years. After privatization, it was renovated until 2009 and now serves as a hotel with restaurant operations. The bungalows have been renovated and modernly equipped, now offering 18 guest rooms.