Bennigsen Estate

However, the oldest known building, a moated castle built in the 10th century, dates back even further. During the Hildesheim Abbey Feud, the manor house on the "island" was also destroyed and was rebuilt from 1566. The elongated building consists of a solid brick basement and first floor and a half-timbered upper floor with a flat hipped roof. The open staircase in the courtyard and the bay window on the graftside are clearly more recent structural alterations. Nevertheless, the impression of a castle complex surrounded by water on all sides was always retained.

History

The rest of the building stock is spread over the extensive grounds, mainly around the two farmyards, very close to the patron saint's church of St. Martin. This is also the location of the main entrance, the round arch portal dating from around 1700 with the family coat of arms - a slanted crossbow shaft - in the pediment. The estate, which was always used for agricultural purposes, and the associated buildings were repeatedly enlarged and altered up until the 19th century. For example, the adjoining kitchen garden to the north of the "island" was transformed into a tree-lined park and the adjoining farmland was gradually incorporated into the park. Numerous visual axes, water features and memorial stones have been preserved to this day. From 1860, Rudolf von Bennigsen (1824-1902) continued to expand the park and planted more exotic and quite rare trees and shrubs. Finally, from 1897, Rudolf von Bennigsen used the "Yellow House" - a classicist country villa built by his father, Carl von Bennigsen, in the estate park - as his retirement home.

Rudolf von Bennigsen

Rudolf von Bennigsen is probably still one of the family’s best-known members today. After an early career in law, he served as a representative in the Estates Assembly of the Kingdom of Hanover. In 1866, he moved to the Prussian House of Representatives. In 1871, as a member of the Reichstag, he led the parliamentary group of the National Liberal Party, which he had co-founded and which was the strongest political force in the early years of the German Empire. His library in the main house has been preserved as a reflection of his multifaceted personality.

© Bennigsen Estate

Restoration and events

Since 2019, work has been underway on ways to restore the park and the historic building stock. The focus here is not only on an approach that is compatible with the listed buildings and particularly careful, but also on energy considerations. In the future, the entire site could be completely self-sufficient in electricity and thus operate in a CO2-neutral manner. The courtyard bridge leading to the "island" is currently in the hands of experienced stonemasons. The double-arched sandstone bridge, which dates back to 1727, was completely dismantled so that the foundations could be rebuilt. The reconstruction now resembles an oversized 3D puzzle. The aim is to reuse as much of the natural stone from the centuries-old bridge construction as possible.

© Bennigsen Estate

The concert by the group Tovte, originally planned for St. Martin’s, was quickly moved to the estate’s large neighboring drive-through barn due to an urgent COVID-19 emergency, thus marking the spectacular kickoff of a casual series of concerts and events at the Bennigsen Estate on August 22, 2021. In 2022, the building—now known as the “Concert Barn”—was cleared out for the orchestra’s world premiere of “Circling Realities” in the stairwell. Various smaller performances took place in the old sheep barn—the large gates leading to the farmyard could always remain open, creating a very unique evening atmosphere.

In December 2022, the traditional Bennigs Christmas market took place at the Wirtschaftshof. The concert season for 2023 is in preparation.

For more information, click here. For inquiries, contact: info@gut-bennigsen.de.