Gut Holzhausen, Heritage estate in Nieheim, Germany

Gut Holzhausen is a manor house built from 1801 to 1809 by architect Wilhelm Carl Hisner of Kassel, using rendered rubble stone. It stands within the remains of a double square moat, with a three-axis Tuscan column portico added in 1910 and a hipped roof topped by vases and ocular dormers. The inner layout follows French models, with symmetrical apartments and corridors.

The von der Borch family received the estate as a feudal grant in 1484 from Prince-Bishop Simon III zur Lippe and has owned it continuously ever since. The property remained under family ownership through the centuries, shaping the regional history for more than five hundred years.

The estate hosts public events including Schützenfeste, Christmas markets, classic car meetings, school theatre festival days and the annual Voices music festival. The 2018 Voices festival opened with a concert by the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, with soprano Sara Hershkowitz singing songs by Richard Strauss.

The estate is still run as a farm, following the Demeter standards of biodynamic agriculture. A tree-lined avenue of linden and old oaks leads to the grounds from the northwest, and the farmyard is divided by the Rentei, a remnant of the former outer bailey. The complex is a listed monument.

The dovecote between the stables carries the date 1715 and has a conical roof. The Rentei, a remnant of the former outer bailey, divides the farmyard; its middle courtyard door is inscribed 1752. The large sheep and bull stable by the road to the upper village is marked 1813 and built of rubble stone.