Bülow Castle

Bülow Castle is located in the municipality of Bülow in the district of Ludwigslust-Parchim in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Bülow was first mentioned in a document in 1262. Since 1573, it has been owned by the von Barner family through purchase and exchange. Its representative, the Prussian officer Magnus Friedrich III von Barner, had it built between 1742 and 1746 as a two-story baroque manor house on older remains. The representative castle building is the result of several construction phases, of which possibly the oldest can be dated to the 16th or 17th century. The alliance coat of arms of the von Barner and von Maltzahn families, located above the entrance area, dates from this period. It symbolizes the connection between the two noble families. In 1842, Heinrich Franz von Barner, who was still a provost in Dobbertin Monastery until 1836, carried out a fundamental renovation. The building was raised by a half-story in the Italian Neo-Renaissance style, in keeping with the taste of the time, and equipped with four prominent corner towers. Parts of the interiors were given Italian-style marble and stucco, and some rooms on the ground floor received inlaid flooring. Further renovations between 1880 and 1890 mainly concerned the interior areas. The entrance hall, however, was paneled with richly decorated oak elements. Old inscriptions are found as supraportes above the doors, such as: Let nothing German be foreign to us! Honor is above life! Peace is with God alone!

For war purposes, the copper roof was removed during the First World War and replaced with a tar paper roof. Between 1936 and 1938, the brothers Magnus Friedrich and Carl Ulrich von Barner carried out a complete renovation and repair of all interiors. The 14 living rooms of the castle housed numerous antique furniture and valuable paintings. In front of the entrance stood two old cannons from 1668 from the Great Turkish War, which Emperor Leopold I presented to his Generalfeldzeugmeister Christoph von Barner. The von Barner family only used the castle for special occasions; their residence was the estate in Klein Trebbow.

Until 1945, in addition to the Klein Trebbow and Barner Stück estates, the Bülow estate was also owned by Carl Ulrich von Barner. After its occupation by Soviet army troops, the castle served as their accommodation until August 1945. The furniture and furnishings were severely damaged, destroyed, and removed. Afterwards, refugees lived in the manor house. During the land reform in the Soviet occupation zone, the estate was parceled out and most of the farm buildings were demolished. The castle became the center of the village and temporarily housed apartments, the Konsum sales outlet, the kindergarten, a kitchen, the municipal office, and a room for doctor's consultations. The ballroom on the upper floor was now a cultural room and received a new parquet floor and a stage for the band in 1968. With the partial renovation of the building, it also received new windows after 1971. In 1990, the former castle became the property of the municipality of Bülow, then stood empty for many years, and was acquired by Cornelia Waack in 2004. The building has been partially restored and is privately used.