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04/19/2017 | Pressemitteilung

New seminar house on the domain Frankenhausen opened

On the Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen north of Kassel, the baroque so-called Amtshaus was reopened today (April 19) after extensive renovation. In the 17th century building, a seminar house has been created, which is open to members of the University of Kassel, but also to guests, especially those with a connection to organic agriculture, for conferences, retreats and seminars.

Renovated official house from the front.

The conversion after almost 50 years of vacancy cost around 1.5 million euros. The house dates back to 1646 and initially served as an administrative and residential building. After the conversion, it has a usable area of over 600 square meters on two floors, has 29 beds (three of which are barrier-free) and a seminar room with a kitchenette, and is supplied by the certified organic domain kitchen. In the former stable wing of the building there is also the conceptually also newly designed regional store, which sells organic products partly from its own production. As an experimental farm of the Department of Organic Agricultural Sciences, the Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen is part of the University of Kassel.

The seminar house complements the infrastructure of the university; it allows intensive work phases in retreat or en bloc outside the usual working environment. In addition, it offers simple, inexpensive overnight accommodations for students and faculty as well as for non-university guests. "With this gem, the University of Kassel is preserving a testimony to the past. However, the house also points to the future, as it is intended to further increase the charisma of the Department of Ecological Agricultural Sciences as a conference venue," said the President of the University of Kassel, Prof. Dr. Reiner Finkeldey, at the opening.

The concept for the conversion came from architect Klaus Schulz (Warburg), who died in October 2016. Special emphasis was placed on historic preservation and building biology. The courtyard areas around the house have now also been renewed and redesigned. Funds of about 1.3 million euros came from the domain budget of the state of Hesse. Further costs of about 200,000 euros were covered by the Wirtschaftsbetrieb Domäne Frankenhausen.

During the opening ceremony, historian Dr. Jochen Ebert (University of Kassel) gave a brief account of the history of the house.

Renovated Amtshaus from the front (Photo: Leonie Horn):

http://www.uni-kassel.de/uni/fileadmin/datas/uni/Amthaus_neu_Leonie_Horn.jpg

Contact:

Dr. Christian Krutzinna

Department 11

Hessian State Domain Frankenhausen

Tel.: 05674-315/925817

domaene[at]uni-kassel[dot]de