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Paretz

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Paretz is a village in the German state of Brandenburg in the district of Havelland , west of Berlin. Recently, a district reform made Paretz into a borough of the city of Ketzin . It has a population of approximately 400. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the village was the summer residence of King Frederick William III of Prussia and of his wife Queen Louise .

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25-499: The manorial estate of Paretz was originally property of the von Bredow family from whom, in 1677, the Brandenburg diplomat Christoph Caspar von Blumenthal bought it. It was from here that his daughter Wilhelmina eloped with Ernst Christian von Weiler, a married man, in 1689. The estate was inherited by Count Hans von Blumenthal , former commander of the Gardes du Corps , who in retirement

50-895: A cavalry charge at Blenheim ; eleven fought at the Battle of Königgrätz alone, and of eighteen who served in the Franco-Prussian War eleven fought at the Battle of Gravelotte . Nineteen served in the First World War . Three of its members won the Pour le Mérite (Blue Max) , two received the Order of the Black Eagle , one became a field-marshal and six became generals , besides numerous family members who were regimental colonels . The family also produced three Prussian ministers of war, one leading statesman under King Jérome of Westphalia (a Chevalier of

75-462: A peculiar kind of material cycle), today most of them however are home to numerous water fowl and have been placed under environmental protection. The German poet and author Theodor Fontane liked the village a lot and came to visit Paretz three times: in the spring of 1861, 1869 and in May 1870. He describes the farm Paretz in his Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg in vivid colors: Paretz lies on

100-780: A short cut for the River Havel, and also has its downstream end at Paretz, both ends of the Sacrow–Paretz Canal are downstream of Berlin . The canal is 12.5 kilometres (7.8 mi) long, of which 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) comprises artificially cut channel, whilst the rest is accounted for by several lakes. Besides the Jungfernsee, these include the Weißer See , the Fahrlander See and the Schlänitzsee . The canal has no locks , and

125-565: Is a canal in the northeastern German state of Brandenburg . It provides a short cut for vessels navigating the River Havel , linking the Jungfernsee , near Potsdam , with Paretz . Building of the canal began in 1874, and it was opened in 1876. Since then, it has been widened and deepened twice, once between 1888 and 1890, and again in the 1920s. Unlike the Havel Canal , which also provides

150-579: Is a Lutheran and Roman Catholic German noble family , originally from Brandenburg-Prussia . Other (unrelated) families of this name exist in Switzerland and formerly in Russia, and many unrelated families (quite a few of them Jewish) called Blumenthal , without " von ", are to be found worldwide. The family was already noble from earliest times ( Uradel ), dating from the days of the Holy Roman Empire in

175-499: The Légion d'honneur ), Danzig 's longest-serving governor and a prominent 19th-century Bavarian politician opposed to rising antisemitism . One member of the family became a head of state (Georg, Prince-Bishop of Ratzeburg , see below). All living members of the family are descended from Eustachius von Blumenthal and Margarethe Gans zu Puttlitz (married circa 1575). She was a descendant, via

200-657: The Middle Ages , long before the creation of the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire , and different branches acquired different titles over time. All living members of the noble family are descended from Heinrich (V) von Blumenthal (1654–93), whose baronial status was limited to the borders of Brandenburg . Other members of the family were raised to allodial baronies ( Freiherren ), all of which are now extinct, or to countships , of which only one line survives. One member of

225-571: The Potsdam area. The tapestries survived World War II as they had been removed and kept in the New Palace in Potsdam for safe keeping. The Gothic House is a former royal forge . It is notable as the only neo-Gothic structure among the other rather simple buildings. Currently, a restaurant is being operated in the building. During the 19th century the production of bricks was an important industry for

250-506: The River Havel between the cities of Potsdam and Brandenburg , and the junction of that river with two canals is nearby. Both canals were built to provide alternative routes to the river, but for rather different ulterior purposes. In the 1870s, the Sacrow–Paretz Canal was constructed to link Paretz with the Jungfernsee , near Potsdam , thus providing a shorter navigation route to Berlin and points upstream for vessels navigating

275-677: The Wendish Counts of Plotho, naming each settlement after the previous one. The Plotho family expanded its estates in the Prignitz in the 13th century, bringing Nikolaus von Blumenthal with them. There he named the villages of Blumenthal and Grabow after his properties in the Archdiocese of Magdeburg. The family of his son-in-law, Ruthger von Amendorf, had also come from the country around Bremen. They inherited Nikolaus von Blumenthal's estates and took his name. The castle of Horst, near Blumenthal in

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300-591: The 20th century. The palace continued to be owned by the Hohenzollern until 1945: King Frederick William IV had passed the palace on to King Wilhelm I who became Emperor of Germany in 1871. In 1888 Prince Heinrich took over the palace and his wife Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine continued after his death in 1929. In April 1945 the Red Army took possession of the grounds and the troops didn't leave until halfway through 1946. A year later, refugees moved into

325-1438: The Lower Lausitz : Pretschen and Wittmannsdorf (1649 - mid-18th century); Guhrow (briefly in the 17th century) In Mecklenburg : Adamsdorf (formerly Kuhschwanz; 1800–1835) and Liepen (1800–1810) In Halberstadt : the former properties of the von Warberg family (1653–1732) In Anhalt : Quellendorf (1871-late 19th century) bought by Field Marshal Count Leonhardt von Blumenthal from General Count Henckel von Donnersmarck and later transferred to his son-in-law Rudolf von Oettinger. In Silesia : Hundsfeld in Oels (late 19th century) In Pomerania : Quackenburg (1717–1905); Egsow & Cummerzin (1734–1833); Suckow (19th century to 1874); Varzin (1874; sold to Bismarck); Jannewitz & Wendisch-Puddiger, with Chorow, Wussow, Gross Onessow, Klein Onessow, Groß Schlönwitz (1734–1773 and 1843–1945); Gross Möllen and Loiste (18th century); Staffelde (1883–1945; recovered and resold in 1990s); Segenthin (1834–1945); Deutsch-Puddiger (1839–1945); Grünwalde in Rummelsburg (briefly, 19th century); Natzlaff (19th Century). In West Prussia : Gottschalk & Dohnastedt (1841 – after 1904) In German New Guinea : Kurakagaul & Natava (1904–1920) Arms : Or (or depending on

350-591: The Prignitz, was the family seat for over 600 years, until 1810. The family also claimed a legendary descent from the Roman Emperor Florianus , as well as from the Arthurian knights Garel and Daniel von Blumenthal , whose stories are told in 13th-century poems by Der Pleier and Der Stricker , respectively. The family had a strong military tradition. Twenty of its members died in battle, including one leading

375-599: The River Havel. In the 1950s, the Havel Canal was constructed to link Paretz with Hennigsdorf , significantly further upstream than Potsdam and avoiding a passage through the reach of the River Havel that was under the political control of West Berlin . Both canals are still in use, providing shorter routes for shipping from the west to Berlin and to the Oder–Havel Canal and Poland. 52°28′N 12°53′E  /  52.467°N 12.883°E  / 52.467; 12.883 Von Blumenthal The Blumenthal family

400-711: The West Prignitz: Pröttlin (1540–1756); Burg Stavenow (1647–1717); Rauschendorf & Schönermark (1798–1810); Abbendorf (1715-?); Krampffer In the Old Brandenburg Mark: Schloss Arneburg (1441–1463) In the rest of the Brandenburg Mark: Bukow (1546–1556); Haselberg & Harnekop (1617–1662); Paretz (1677–1795); Flatow (1797–1810); Steinhöfel (1774–1800 - descended to Charlotte von Blumenthal and thence to her son Valentin von Massow) ); Trechwitz (1644–1650); Falkenberg In

425-513: The area as they could be sold to the ever-growing city of Berlin. Therefore, many villages had several tile producing companies. To make the bricks, clay was needed and mined from the clay ground common to the area. When the business slowed down after World War I, the clay mines filled with ground water and turned into small lakes, the Erdlöcher or "holes in the ground". After World War II, some holes were backfilled with rubble from bombed Berlin (in

450-580: The branch of the family, party per pale, sable and or); in bend sinister, a vinestock couped (or planted, again depending upon the branch of the family), with three clusters and three leaves proper, all counterchanged. Crest: A virgin, dressed per pale or and sable (or in some cases undressed), between two eagles' wings, holding a wreath in her dexter hand. Sacrow%E2%80%93Paretz Canal The Sacrow–Paretz Canal , or Sacrow-Paretzer-Kanal in German ( pronounced [ˈzakʁoː ˈpaːʁɛt͡sɐ kaˈnaːl] ),

475-488: The buildings and in 1948 ownership of the palace was transferred to the Zentrale Verwaltung der gegenseitigen Bauernhilfe (ZVdgB) ("Central Administration of Mutual Aid to Farmers"). Modifications to the complex through 1950 completely changed the look of the palace and farm. Special attractions of the palace are the tapestries that are adorned with exotic plant motives, bird renditions and depictions of landscapes in

500-474: The entire village rebuilt to conform to David Gilly's designs but the uniform style is hardly recognizable anymore today. After the death of Queen Louise in 1810 the palace was left unchanged until 1840 when Frederick William IV had the wallpaper and furniture replaced in several rooms. The appeal of the Schloss-Still-im-Land was lost however and the palace remained untouched and empty until early in

525-515: The estates of Blumenthal and Grabow from the only daughter and heiress of Nikolaus von Blumenthal, first referred to in a document of 1240. His family probably originally came from Bloemendaal ("Flower Valley" or "Valley of Flowers") in Holland and re-located first to Blumenthal near Verden in the diocese of Bremen and thence to Blumenthal in the Archdiocese of Magdeburg , where they were vassals of

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550-845: The families of Gleichen zu Tonna and Querfurt from Henry I the Child , Landgrave of Hesse, and thus also of St. Elizabeth of Hungary , St Ludwig of Thuringia ("Ludwig the Holy"), St. Hedwig of Silesia and Charlemagne , besides St. Olga of Pleskau , St. Vladimir of Kiev , St. Ludmilla of Bohemia, St. Olaf of Norway and St. Matilda von Ringelsheim . In the East Prignitz : Horst (1241–1810); Blumenthal (1263–1810); Hennekendorf (until 1318); Grabow (1274–1312); Dahlhausen (1487–1810); Brüsenhagen (mentioned in 1424); Vehlow (1486–1838; repurchased in 1930s); Krampfer (17th-18th century); Wüsten-Boddin (1458–95); Garz (1438–1541); Kyritz (Townhouse, 1315–1585) In

575-622: The family, Georg (I) was a Prince-Bishop (i.e. a head of state). In the case of another, Leonhard (I) the Kaiser announced in the Court Circular his intention to raise him to Prince, but he died months later before this could be enacted. Like the von Grabow family, whose descendants have included Pushkin , the Blumenthals were originally a branch of the Ammendorf (or Amendorf ) family, who inherited

600-400: Was put in charge of the construction of the building and it was planned to become a country palace. "Just remember always that you are building for a poor farmer", the crown prince is said to have told the architect. Flanking the palace were placed two barn buildings each, on the left and right, (one on each side to house animals) thus forming a semi circular yard. In 1804 the royal couple had

625-489: Was tutor to the Crown Prince Frederick William (later King Frederick William III of Prussia ). The Crown Prince had a sad childhood, but he was always happy staying with his tutor at Paretz. For this reason, in 1795 he bought the estate of Paretz from his tutor's son, his former playmate Count Heinrich von Blumenthal, for 80,000 Thalers (approximately €120,000 as of 2005). The Berlin architect David Gilly

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