Demesne Kritzow near Lübz

Kritzow has been inhabited since time immemorial (see the knife which had been lost during the Bronze Age on the Buschkoppel (bush paddock) 200 metres north of the tenant´s house. Photographed here laid out on the oldest exact map of the area from 1787).

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Domäne Kritzow bei Lübz

The Redickesdorf family was enfeoffed with Kritzow in 1300. In 1438 the Sovereigns returned the estate and the fort to the Redickesdorfs who had previously been arrested for assault on Ducal properties. Remains of the moat are extant north of the village.

In 1606 the Dowager Duchess Sophie purchased Kritzow out of the bankruptcy estate of a Redickesdorf family member. The picture shows her grave in Lübz. Her grandson and heir Christian Louis I. intended to present the estate to his girl-friend, then he decided not to in order to not endanger his divorce. Kritzow became a demesne of the Sovereign and was leased out invariably with the fishing rights on the Kritzow Lake.

The Demesne covered:

  • in 1896 590 hectare
  • in 1917 583 hectare
  • in 1927 548 hectare
  • in 1930 445 hectare.

In 1939 all tenancy agreements were terminated and the estate was opened to settlements at the end of the war. Tenants had been the Berndes family since 1868, finally it was Ottilie Berndes. The fishery was leased to Fisherman Frehse up to 1958, it then went to the Fischereigenossenschaft in Plau (Fisheries Cooperative). Up to WWI the village consisted of the farm buildings only; parts of the row of cottages are extant.

The Tenant´s house was built in 1757 and considerably modified in 1873.

During GDR times the building was used for refugees, as a school, the municipal council, an advice clinic for young mothers, and a kindergarten during harvest times. Gasmasks for use in case of imperialistic attacks were also stored in this building.

Nowadays the house is private property it has been renovated and is inhabited (in some cases by the same tenants since 1945).

Literature: Karl Steinbruch: Ortsgeschichte von Kritzow mit Benzin und Schlemmin. Hrsg.v.d. Gemeinde Kritzow 2000

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