Das Schloss
Am herrschaftlichen Schloss erkennt man den Spät-Barocken Baustil. Im Jahre 1620 stand das Schloss als dreiflügeliges barockes Gebäude. Nach 1807 wurde es von seinem damaligen Besitzer von Pfister völlig umgebaut. Eine wesentliche Baumaßnahme erlebte das Schloss 1880 durch den Grafen von Zech-Burkersroda als die Flügel entfernt wurden, ein großer Flügel an der Nordseite angebaut wurde und schöne Sandsteingauben und ein Giebel als Verzierung gebaut wurden. In den folgenden Jahren wurde mehrmals daran gebaut und so erhielt es sein heutiges Aussehen.
Bild: Altes Schloss um 1800. Wandmalerei im Schloss zu Börln - wird noch gesucht! (Neue Sächsische Kirchengalerie, 1914)
Es konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass dieses Schloss auf den Resten einer frühdeutschen Wasserburganlage errichtet wurde. Es war von einem Wallgraben umgeben. Das Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte hat dieses Bodendenkmal unter Schutz gestellt aber die Hälfte wurde kanalisiert und gefüllt.
Die Schlossgeschichte endete natürlich nicht mit der Enteignung der letzten Besitzer im Jahre 1945. Das Rittergut ging zunächst in die Verwaltung der Sowjetischen Armee über.
Im Schloss wurde vorübergehend eine Station für abhanden gekommene Kinder eingerichtet. Unter ihnen waren 20, die keinen Namen angeben konnten. Nachdem diese Kinder ihren Angehörigen zugeführt werden konnten, ist das Kinderheim im Sommer 1946 wieder aufgelöst worden.
Das Schloss diente Ende der 40-iger und Anfang der 50-iger Jahre aber noch anderen Zwecken. So wurden Unterrichts-und Werkräume eingerichtet und zusätzlicher Schulbetrieb aufgenommen. Über längere Zeit waren Schule und Altenheim gleichzeitig Nutzer des Schlosses.
Parallel zum Schulbetrieb fanden dreißig alte und hilfsbedürftige Menschen Aufnahme im Schloss. Es war die Geburtsstunde des Alters- und Pflegeheimes. Die Aufnahmekapazität war unterschiedlich, 1972 wohnten 70 und 1979/80 sogar 130 Senioren in diesem Hause.
Nach der friedlichen Revolution im Jahre 1989 fanden 85 Menschen hier ihr zu Hause. Ende 2002 zogen die Bewohner und Pflegeschwestern in ein neues Gebäude in Dahlen.
Schon im Jahr 2000 wurde entschieden, dass Schloss Börln nicht mehr als Altenheim genutzt werden sollte. Die Behörden in Torgau suchten nach einem Käufer.
Am 22. Juli 2003 wurde Schloss Börln an einen privaten Investor, Herr Roderick Hinkel, verkauft, der in Sachsen seine Wurzeln hat. Das Schloss wird über die nächsten Jahren restauriert und als Familiensitz und für Kunst und Kultur benutzt.
Farmyard
Farmyard
On the old map dated 1617 to the north of and outside the moat island there were horse stables (left), a cowshed (to the right thereof) and a long shed (right). Behind this was the "Der Garten hindern Scheunen oder Braugarten" (Garden behind the sheds or brewery garden), to the west a "Freßgarten" (Victuals Garden) - later named Mühlgarten (Mill Garden). This aside, there was the "Viehhoff" (farmyard), a three-sided farm courtyard to the west of the castle.
In about 1800 the Börln estate's owner Baron von Pfister decided to undertake major building works. His role as judicial head of the manor demanded a suitable court building, more administration offices were needed and it was also time for the tenant to have an appropriate dwelling. A tall building was erected to house these functions on the east side of the farmyard. The "Viehhoff" to the west of the castle became a representative forecourt garden, the valuable paving stones were probably transferred to the farm courtyard.
Historic photo of the farm courtyard on an old postcard. Left (corner) cowshed which was separated from the horse stables (corner, left from tall section). Tenant apartment and administration rooms (until 1845 law court) were in the tall section. To the right: other business rooms.
East facade of the Tenant and former Courthouse before 1945 showing the entrance to the Gey tenant family's apartment. The horse stables are to the right. Photo: Wilhelm Gey
Paved farm courtyard with well house. The shed is in the background. The paving stones were probably from Dornreichenbach's Quartz-Porphyr quarry and could have been carried across from the "Viehhoff" in front of the castle in about 1800, where they can still be seen today in some parts (some years ago part of the courtyard was covered with cement paving stones). Photo: before 1945, the late Wilhelm Gey.
Tenant & Courthouse, Horse Stables and Cowshed
Although the castle archive was taken by the Russians in 1945, there are about 15 metres of documents taken from the Tenant-and Courthouse located in the Sächsischen Landesmuseum in Paunsdorf near Leipzig. The building plans for the Tenant and Courthouse are still to be found there. Baron von Pfister built a tall house comprising four floors at the southern end of the horse stables which can be seen today as a tall structure in the centre of the building.
Up to 1945 a part of this building was lived in by the tenant family Gey, while other floors were used for administration. Until 1845 the Lord of the Manor was also the judicial head of the estate but at that time throughout Germany this role was handed over to civil authorities so presumably a large part of the building could now be used for alternative purposes. The last tenant Johannes Gey was shot in 1945 by Russians between Börln and Falkenhain, apparently in retribution for a compaint by a Russian soldier prisoner of war Natasha who was forced to work in the fields although she was ill and swore he would pay for this treatment one day. The building was then used for soldiers, refugees and later for the LPG agricultural combine. A part was also used as a kindergarten, led by Frau Döhler, assisted by Frau Heinecker.
The apartment of the Gey family had to be handed over to Russian troops in 1945 and the widow Frau Gey found refuge for a time in the castle. Her furniture was taken by the sons of the first post-war mayor who was appointed by the Russians after he held a photo of Stalin high as he welcomed them to Börln.
Shed (demolished)
The shed, which could be seen on the map dated 1617, was located on the west side of the farm courtyard. It was demolished after WWII and on the site a row of garages was erected. The following photos were taken before the demolition.
East facade of the Tenant House which was furnished with a much too large arched entry door. To the left is an apartment. To the far left, not visible here, was a garage, demolished in 2001. To the right is the former horse stables, behind this (not visible here) the foremer cowshed.
Since after the WWII, the courtyard is no longer closed between the cowshed (left) and horse stables (right). Business rooms (right) together with an interesting (but not monument-compliant) Tudor-style addition were turned into an apartment. In 2001 the historic southernmost part of the building with two levels of grain attic above the garage was demolished. A photo of the garage before demolition is shown below.
All photos of the rear (west) side of the demolished shed: Copyright (C) Frau Marie-Luise Uhlitzsch, Börln
Vaulted horse stables, built before 1617. In the attic there was a poison store of the LPG which was disposed of in the rubble dump in the castle park.
Thereafter the building served as the headquarters of the LPG although many refugees and displaced persons continued to live upstairs for a time, owing to the housing shortage. After 1989, the deputy mayor and former LPG head Karl Hermann Stein purchased the tall section and the horse stables from the Town and set about altering them, naturally without submitting any plans nor obtaining approval. The entrance area was furnished with a large archway, typical of the one Johannes Döhler designed for the Florist Shop on the market square in Dahlen. On the ground floor are the offices of Landgut Börln GbR and on other floors there are hostel rooms used by horseriding enthusiasts and wedding guests.
In the southernmost end of the building an apartment was created with a Tudor-style extension. Since 2001 the end of the building is missing: a garage with mechanic's pit, a staircase to the grainstore over two floors in the attic - demolished without permission - on which site the Clara-Zetkin-Strasse inexplicably stands on private property whereas the original road is neglected and full of weeds. The wooden gate where the night watchman stood is long since gone and nobody would imagine that at this point the entrance to Saxony's second largest farmyard was to be found. The former cowshed was allocated to the Walter Family in the Land Reform. When they retired, they sold it to Karl Hermann Stein who in 2007/8 stripped out and sold the historic cast iron pillars and converted it into a "community room", once again without a building permit (as a replacement for the former LPG dining room, later "Reidi" supermarket building he had previously purchased and converted using state and European subsidies), a hall with a small kitchen but no toilets. This room is let almost every week, usually on Thursdays for a "Polterabend" followed by a wedding on Saturdays. It is not an ideal location for loud music, opposite the church and close to neighbours. The resulting disturbances to the peace and especially sleep with the impact on health was not the only problem. Fireworks were let off in the middle of the night. Even the family living in part of the Tenant's House was not excluded: a few days after the head of the household died and even before he had been buried, fireworks were let off under their bedroom windows - village council member Zimmermann was celebrating his 50th birthday. The Town Administration of Dahlen was for many years of the opinion that they could sell permits for letting off fireworks, as they pleased. They were even supported by the provincial legal services director in this decision. Only after they were referred to the German Federal Explosives Statute would the Dahlen Administration alter its stance on the subject. Unfortunately, even to this day there is no administration specialist in Dahlen as the law requires, no successful applicant could be found for this post. Up to this point, permits for letting off fireworks were illegally sold and all appeals were ignored.
Extract of a map dated 1617, Hauptarchiv, Dresden
The route of the Clara-Zetkin-Strasse was changed in 2001 after the demolition of the southernmost part of the Tenant's and Law Court Building (garage with grain store attic on two levels as marked), that would have been in the way of the above unrestricted view of the church. On this road 40-50 Russian tanks would pass by on military manouevres, finding it difficult to swing around the 90 degree corner around the garage. Slightly behind the green garage gate on the left one can see GDR garages, standing on the site of the demolished historic shed. Serfs used to live in the flat-roofed building and until 2001 it was occupied by tenants. To the west of this building stood the brewery and there was a paved courtyard between the buildings, since filled in. Much earlier, also in 1617, the moat lay a few metres to the right of the road.
The pictures above show the previously mentioned former cowshed, today let as a "community room" for festivities. Part of the roof on the south side has new historically correct red Saxon beaver-tail tiles, to the right there are GDR cement tiles. Up to the time of retiling there were still the old hand-made roof tiles. To the left, up to about 2005, there was a gable, a remnant of the demolished large shed. This was important, to show where it used to stand and just how large it was (marked). The gable was torn down without a permit, which resulted in an official stop to further work but no fine, after which the shape of the roof was changed to the hip form as can be seen. On the left, at the end of the building, there are pony stables today. A fire protection wall between the stables and the festivities room is missing, which Börln's voluntary fire brigade surely finds worrying; Dahlen's mayor Matthias Löwe was previously Chief Fire Officer but is inactive. A fire protection wall is usually at least 30 cm above the roof to help contain flames leaping over to the next section of the building. The building authority in Torgau confirms when asked that there is a fire protection wall but it is not to be found. Even though all building work was carried out without planning and building permits, the owner was able to obtain a retrospective permit, also for an entrance hall added without permission to the west side of the former cowshed, where the building was joined to the horse stables before 1945.
Also missing during the conversion of the tall structure to hostel rooms in the 1990s was a second emergency exit prescribed by regulations. There was a such an escape route prior to conversion. During an inspection in about 2010 the building inspector finally discovered the absence of the prescribed stairway and, with the approval of the monument protection authority, ordered the erection of an external emergency staircase. Building commenced and reached the first floor, ruining the historic facade, but for an unknown reason was discontinued and the building failed to comply with regulations until late 2014.
Text and all images unless specifically mentioned Copyright (C) 2016-26 Roderick Hinkel
Left: Entrance to apartments in the flat-roofed serfs' house (see photo below too) above the old malt cellar. A paved courtyard between the building and the brewery building which was demolished after 1945 was filled with rubble to a height of some 1.5 metres by locals, at the invitation of Karl Hermann Stein who planned to build parking places there. The bulk of the rubble is on a site owned by the Town and has blocked the driveway for years. The former mayor Johannes Rudolph told Roderick Hinkel he should be pleased to have this rubble to use as a base for paths but he has his own opinion about this and wants the Town to finally remove the rubble. Nothing has happened since 2003 and the mayor Matthias Löwe, backed by town councillors, invent more and more lies and refuse to act, ignoring the provincial governor in Torgau.
Until 2001 grain attic on two levels above a garage on the ground floor
Former shed
<1945 part of cowshed
Pony shed
Fire protection wall of minimum 30cm above the tiles is missing
Former cowshed now a community room
Astonishingly, the Manor of Börln's core - except for the brewery - was fully intact until after 1989. But not for long. The former LPG head tore down the distillery and large potato shed which did not belong to him, also an important part of the Tenant House, and as the crowning glory of the Village Beautification presented Börln with an approximately 9,000 m² rubble dump in the castle park. The history was gone and will not return; he walked away unpunished.
Schloss Börln