The best family-friendly hikes and walks around Damshagen

The castle and park are impressively embedded in the landscape of the Klützer Winkel. They extend over an island surrounded by a closed moat based on a Dutch model. The garden offers not only peace and idyll – for many summers, the castle park has also served as a green backdrop for concerts that delight thousands.

An old cog served as a model here for a children's adventure playground.

Even if you don't know the writer - the building itself speaks for itself. Especially the many small window openings with the shutters.

The history of Gutshaus Stellshagen dates back to the Bronze Age, 3600 to 3200 BC. Stellshagen was first documented in 1230 as Stellershagen. In 1817, Hans Bernhard von Plessen united the estates in Stellshagen and Damshagen. In 1819, he sold the Gut Stellshagen estate to Gotthard Bernhard Vorbeck for 63,000 Reichsthaler. In 1833, the estate passed to Johann August Bosselmann, and in 1855 to his son Johann Heinrich Georg Friedrich Bosselmann. The latter sold it in 1865 for 225,000 Reichsthaler to Karl Bernhard Rudolff. Through a forced auction, the 353.3-hectare estate was acquired in 1886 by Count Ludwig von Bothmer. In 1894, it passed into the possession of Otto Graf von Bothmer and in 1918 it was sold to Hans von Plessen. In 1924, the Hamburg architect Franz Bach senior acquired the estate with 1500 Morgen of land for his son Franz Bach junior and built a stately manor house on the highest elevation in the area. The new lord of the manor, Franz Bach junior, was a patriarch like all the other lords of the manor in the area, but as a newcomer, he had not grown up with conventional patterns of relationships between lord and day laborers – so it was easier for him to bridge the social gap between him and his employees. In the village, the manor house was called "The Castle" because of its massive dimensions. But no nobles lived in the castle, but people with an uncomplicated and unconventional way of life – everything revolved around agriculture, the weather, the harvest, and the festivals that accompanied the leisurely rhythm of the seasons. In 1944, World War II broke into the idyll of the Klützer Winkel. Streams of refugees from the East poured into the country. Not only the manor house, but also the barn and the houses of the day laborers filled up with people who did not want to be overrun by the Russians. Many arrived with horse-drawn wagons, and some pushed their bundles on wheelbarrows – most of them were women and children. The front line moved ever closer. In the end, it was not the Red Army, but the Americans who marched into Stellshagen. The German soldiers offered no resistance, so the village was spared damage. Mrs. Lore Cordes, daughter of Franz Bach junior, had learned English at the Gymnasium in Hamburg and proved useful as an interpreter. The first thing she heard from the American commander was an eviction order. The American officer gave the Bach family three hours to leave their house, then he moved in himself. Lore Cordes found accommodation with her young son in the estate manager's house. But three weeks later, the Americans moved out again, and the Bachs were able to return to their house. The Americans had handed over the administration to the British. The Bach family left the manor house for Hamburg, but Franz Bach junior did not want to come along. The farmer was attached to his property and was not impressed by rumors that the British were about to withdraw. Soon after, the British left, and the Russians arrived. The lord of the manor, Franz Bach, got along well with the Russians. He met regularly with the Soviet commander for card games and vodka sessions in the manor house's living room, so that something akin to a friendship developed between the two. The land reform was, of course, unavoidable, and Franz Bach was aware that his manor house no longer belonged to him. He only lived there temporarily, but he helped the Soviet commander divide his lands among his former employees. Finally, the Russian officer handed over the administration to the German officials of the Soviet occupation zone. Shortly before this happened, the Russian commander advised his friend Franz Bach: It's time for you to get out. In 1994, Gertrud Cordes, granddaughter of Franz Bach junior, acquired the old manor house and converted it into an organic and health hotel, which opened in 1996.

From the Mäuseturm, you have a good view of the beautiful landscape in a secluded area.

A beautiful old avenue that circles the palace gardens. Drive carefully and enjoy. This is how you might have driven here 300 years ago.

Very beautiful avenue

Relaxing, healthy, beautiful place