The participants have to be aware of physically demanding works.

Workcamps   Lohra Castle Burg Lohra

ENVI OH-W01 05.06. - 18.06.2016 ENVI/RENO OH-W02 19.06. - 02.07.2016 ENVI/RENO OH-W03 03.07. - 16.07.2016 ENVI/RENO OH-W04 17.07. - 30.07.2016 ENVI OH-W05 31.07. - 13.08.2016 ENVI OH-W06 14.08. - 27.08.2016 ENVI OH-W07 28.08. - 10.09.2016 ENVI OH-W08 11.09. - 24.09.2016 ENVI OH-W09 25.09. - 08.10.2016

In June, July and August Open Houses organises Workcamps and Building Weeks in the same period at Lohra Castle.     The two working groups are living together and they are one community. The only difference between the two projects is the topics they are working on.     During the camp it will be possible, that volunteers join the other working group, because of their skills or their own interests. Therefore please also see the Lohra Castle Building Weeks descriptions.

ACCOMMODATION: shared rooms with 2 - 5 beds in 3 guest houses, warm shower (limited hot water), 1 camp kitchen (cold water), coal-burning stoves LOCATION: Next towns: Bleicherode (6 km), Nordhausen (20 km), Erfurt (75 km) Region: Thuringia TERMINAL: Next bus station: Großlohra, Friedrichslohra/Wartehalle Next railway station: Gebra/Hainleite (5 km) Next airport: Leipzig/Halle (LEJ, 155 km) Frankfurt/Main (FRA, 280 km) Berlin (TXL, SXF, 300 km) AGE: at least 18 WHAT TO BRING: strong working shoes, waterproof and appropriate clothes, sleeping bag

 

 

Lohra Castle is situated in the heart of Germany in Northern Thuringia. The castle, which is surrounded by a scenic hilly landscape, is located on the edge of a nature reserve area. Being one of the largest castles in Thuringia, the history of Lohra Castle begins in the Middle Age.

The castle is more than 1000 years old. Today, it includes 20 buildings from different times: medieval fortifications, remnants of a tower from the 11^th century, a roman chapel, a manor from the Renaissance period as well as stables and granaries from the 19^th century.

 

The ensemble is situated in the centre of a beautiful forest. For years Lohra Castle was vacant. In the 1990s Open Houses started to restore the castle and to revive it by cultural activities. Since that time, a large number of Workcamps, Building Weeks, art-workshops, exhibitions, concerts and international meetings took place in the castle.

 

 

Workcamps   Lohra Castle Burg Lohra

 

Project Descriptions

The projects of Open Houses are based on sustainable principles. So also the activities at Lohra Castle combine ideas of cultural heritage preservation and ideas of natural heritage preservation.

On one hand the volunteers which are participating at the Building Weeks repair and restore the historical buildings of the castle complex,on the other hand the participants of the Workcamps carry out works in the green areas and the forests around the castle.

 

Be informed, that the work will take place also on rainy and cold days, so please bring rain jacket, waterproof and strong shoes as well as warm clothes.

 

W01

Lohra Castle is located on the edge of a nature reserve area and surrounded both by beech forests and fruit trees. The site has a stupendous size of ten hectare, most of them green areas for which the volunteers will take care – by cutting and collecting the grass at the meadows and pulling up weeds.

 

W02, W03

Nearby the youth accommodation houses which are part of Lohra Castle complex there is a campsite which can be used by groups of youngsters, too. An abandoned former agricultural building will be rebuilt into a sanitary house for campers. Therefore it is necessary to construct a water line to this building. An excavator will dig the line and the volunteers will accompany this work by collecting stones and bringing in an insulating layer of sand. Later they will under the guidance of a craftsman lay the water pipes and put afterwards the material which had been digged out back into the ditch. The remaining material will be used to fill holes and to level the ground at other parts of the castle. Furthermore the participants will take care of the outdoor area.

 

W04

Because around the outer walls of the castle trees had been grown up during the last two decades, actually the castle is partly not seen from the valley. So, besides taking care of green areas the volunteers will help to cut the trees around the walls in order to expose the view to the castle and will transport the wood to the storage place. Furthermore, they will also clean the paths around the castle.

 

W05, W06, W07, W08, W09

The hilly massive near Lohra Castle is listed as National Nature Reservation and Open Houses supports the Nature Reservation since several years with volunteer activities.

In a forest around four kilometres from the castle the participants will remove trees and bushes which are not corresponding with the protection aims and will collect the wood remaining after maintenance works, load it on a truck and unload it at the castle to store it for wintertime. The smaller material will be used, too, to build traditional fences.

The volunteers will continue the cultivation of the green areas around the castle, too.

Workcamps   Klein Dammerow Manor Gutshaus Klein Dammerow

ENVI OH-W22 04.07. - 15.07.2016 ENVI OH-W23 18.07. - 29.07.2016 ENVI OH-W24 01.08. - 12.08.2016 ENVI OH-W25 15.08. - 26.08.2016

 

ACCOMMODATION: common sleeping room with mattresses, warm shower and toilets LOCATION: Next towns: Plau am See (17 km) Region: Mecklenburg-West Pomerania TERMINAL: Next bus station: Klein Dammerow bei Retzow Next railway station: Lübz (20 km) Next airports: Berlin (TXL, SXF, 160 km), Rostock (HRO, 120 km) AGE: at least 18 WHAT TO BRING: strong shoes, waterproof clothes, sleeping bag

 

Klein Dammerow Manor is located between Berlin and the Baltic Sea and surrounded by nature reserves with many fields, woods, ponds and rivers. The Manor is a very interesting brick building from 1892/93 with a beautiful interior. The walls are covered with clay and painted with lime casein paint. The historical wooden floor planks are revealed and renovated. Most of the rooms are equipped with historical furniture, what gives the house a magnificent attraction.

 

In the huge garden surrounding the Manor House a stone-oven invites to experience conventional bakery, and the fireplace assures nice evenings in the nature, too. The sports area with a football-ground and volleyball-net is just beside. The participants can also enjoy their leisure time discovering the Mecklenburg Lake District. This place is ideal for having a great summer.

 

 

Project Description

The work in Klein Dammerow will mostly consist of gardening and cleaning up the historical park around the house, which has been unused for a long time. Year by year, Open Houses brings back to life another part of the huge garden area. The participants will mow the lawn, cut bushes and trees and reconstruct paths.

 

Beside that the volunteers will carry out small handcraft works as repair a storage house for fire wood, paint fences and similar tasks.