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Founded: 1797Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Germany
Historical period: German Mediatization & French Revolution (Germany)
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The Ossmannstedt estate is closely linked with the name of Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1813). The poet purchased the Baroque complex of buildings and park in 1797 and lived there with his family for six years (see Wieland estate in Ossmannstedt). Even in Wieland’s day, very little of the original Baroque garden remained, as the previous owners had used the three terraces sloping down to the river Ilm for agricultural purposes. Wieland’s happy rural life with his garden came to an abrupt end with the deaths in Ossmannstedt of Sophie Brentano and his wife Anna Dorothea, and the poet moved back to Weimar in 1803. According to his wish, Wieland was buried besides his wife and Sophie Brentano in the park of the Ossmannstedt estate after his death in 1813. From 1859 to 1896, the house belonged to the family of the privy counsellor John Grant of Glen Morrison. Their numerous guests included Grand Duke Carl Alexander, Walther von Goethe, Franz Liszt and the descendants of Herder and Wieland.
The estate was divided during the land reform at the end of the 1940s, the service buildings and the enclosure wall were torn down and the manor was converted into a school. Thorough and extensive restoration work was carried out on the property between 1968 and 1974 and again between 2003 and 2005. Although the upper parterre was converted into a sports ground in 1947, the original terracing is still recognisable today. Particularly well worth seeing is the well house with its large pool opposite the residential building. The Baroque grotto with the dolphin-shaped waterspout is surrounded by flower beds laid out in accordance with historical designs. Wieland’s brief period of residence in Ossmannstedt and his grave in the park have added substantially to the significance of the estate, which occupies six hectares.
Wieland Manor is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'Classical Weimar'.
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