Gusow Castle

Gusow Castle is located in Gusow-Platkow, Brandenburg. First mentioned in 1353, it was owned over the centuries by several noble families, including the von Barfuß, von Derfflinger, von der Marwitz, and later the Schönburg family. General Georg von Derfflinger acquired the estate in 1649, and major renovations were undertaken from 1750 onward, including the creation of a baroque garden and later a neo-Gothic redesign between 1870–73.

The castle became a summer and hunting residence for the Schönburgs, visited at times by Prussian kings. It once featured works by sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the estate included a distillery, brickyard, and sugar factory.

After WWII, the castle served various public purposes—war shelter, grain storage, kindergarten, and community center. Severely damaged in 1945, it passed to the municipality in 1948. Renovation efforts began in the 1960s, but after German reunification, the building stood empty until it was sold to a private owner in 1992.

Today, Gusow Castle is privately owned, not open to the public, and in visible disrepair. The once-grand castle park is now heavily neglected and overgrown.

Address
Schloßstraße 7, Gusow-Platkow, Germany

Established
18th century