Möglin Manor

Möglin, whose name possibly has Slavic origins meaning “hill place,” was first documented in 1343 as a possession of the von Eichendorff family. In Emperor Charles IV's land register of 1375, Mogelyn was recorded with 20 hides, with the von Pfuel family owning a portion. Between 1448 and 1483, the Eichendorffs and the von Barfus family shared ownership. The latter took over the estate and shaped Möglin for over 300 years. In 1592, the imperial cavalry captain Heinrich von Barfus had the current manor house built. Around 1598, the village church was constructed. The Thirty Years' War led to the destruction of the estate, which was deserted by 1652. In 1765, Friedrich Ludwig von Barfus was forced to sell the property. After several changes of ownership, the agricultural scientist Albrecht Daniel Thaer acquired the estate in 1804. He established Möglin as a model farm for rational agriculture and founded the first academic institution for agriculture in the German-speaking world in 1806, which was continued by his descendants until 1861.