Karlsburg Castle

The history of Karlsburg Castle begins in 1731 when Carl Heinrich Behrend Reichsgraf von Bohlen initiated the construction of a new manor house on the Gnatzkow estate. A fire in 1732 destroyed the unfinished building and the surrounding village, leading to a reconstruction in the Baroque style. By 1739, the essential parts of the castle were completed. In 1745, Carl Heinrich Behrend von Bohlen was elevated to the status of Imperial Count and, from 1750, had a French-style park laid out. The builder's financial difficulties led to his son, Carl Julius Bernhard Reichsgraf von Bohlen, having to acquire the estate from bankruptcy proceedings in 1757. The castle was not fully completed until 1773. A renaming of the locality to Karlsburg occurred in remembrance of a visit by Gustav III of Sweden in 1771.