The site

Erxleben Castle is an originally mediaeval mooted castle that was built by the Alvensleben family which lived there till 1945. Afterwards it was used as a technical school, and since 1990 it had been out of use.

Relevant parts of the castle – also called “Joachimsbau” (Joachim’s building) – are dating back to Late Gothic., Renaissance and Baroque periods. A “donjon” from the 14th century is still preserved as well as a big Renaissance hall. The building contents medieval fire places, spiral staircases and sandstone door frames from the Late Gothic period, roof constructions from Renaissance time, a Renaissance kitchen with huge fireplaces and chimneys, Baroque stucco ceilings, a library in a neo-Romanic style, ornamental paintings from the early 20th century – all showing the high historic and architectural quality of the castle which belongs to the most important heritage sites of the region.

Due to lack of maintenance the castle was highly endangered – roofs and ceilings were damaged, walls in decay. Beside the imminent loss of an important heritage site, the dramatic situation of the castle had negative influence on the image of the community and lead to a decreasing identification of the inhabitants with their village. The community, consisting of seven villages with all together less than 3, 000 inhabitants, could not effort the needed preservation of the castle on its own.

Thus in 2015, Deutsches Fachwerkzentrum Quedlinburg (German Half-Timber Centre Quedlinburg) started with interventions and achieved while repairing the ceilings, the roof construction and the roof as a first step the constructive stabilization of the building and it s protection against climatic influences. Currently, the step-by-step preservation of the interior of the building is going on.   

The Training Course

The Training Course “Traditional Wood Techniques” focused on the restoration of a Renaissance hall which had been used during the second half of the 20th century as class room. In result of a careful restoration the room shall be transformed into a Renaissance hall again.

During the course the participants gained practical skills in restoration of historic windows. They learned methods as boat-shaped insetting, the use of fish and bone glue in the restoration of historical wooden elements and others.

In addition, the restoration of historical half-timbered structures from the 18th century has been taught. The participants gained theoretical knowledge about traditional timber joints such as mortise and tenon joints and gained practical skills in their restoration.

Within the framework of the educational programme, excursions to heritage sites in the region have been organised.

The Training Course has been organised by European Heritage Volunteers, in cooperation with Deutsches Fachwerkzentrum Quedlinburg (German Half-Timber Centre) Quedlinburg.