History
The village of Börln celebrated 800 years of existence in 2000, although it is actually much older. According to a Chronical written by Pastor Jürgen Schneider, the Lutheran Minister of Börln, Barbara Gabriel and Olaf Mescheder of the Heimatverein Dahlen on this occasion, there is not much written history available. The following information is extracted mainly from the publication "800 Jahre Börln (1200 - 2000) Ein Streifzug durch die Geschichte".
Börln is situated on the southern edge of the Dahlener Heide in Freistaat (formerly Kingdom of) Sachsen. On 31 December 1999 there were 571 inhabitants. Together with the adjacent hamlets, there are some 870 inhabitants over an area of 15 square kilometres.
The village is surrounded by forests and farmland. A recent addition to the local amenities is horseriding.
At the edge of the village lies the "Hain", a small park with a pond fed by the Lossa stream.
Börln used to be the centre for a number of smaller villages which, in some cases, no longer exist. The central village forms the administrative centre, in which can be found the Schloss (castle), the Herrenhaus (manor house from which the property was managed by a lessor), the old school (now unused), an ice cellar, a watermill and a water well house. Unfortunately, the historic Brennerei (distillery) was torn down in about 2001.
The village of Radegast also belonged to Börln and Schwarzer Kater ("Black Cat") is at a crossroad of the old trade routes, including the Butter Route.
The largest community is in Bortewitz, which used to be an independent village. Prempelwitz (between Börln and Radegast) and Mark Stolpen (between Börln and Heyda) have been lost in history. Only the old names remain, as: Prempelberg and "Stolpenteich".
Börln lies 5km from the small town of Dahlen. Börln was brought into Dahlen in 1994 and is now in the district of Torgau-Oschatz, which was also newly formed in 1994. Grimma, to which Börln used to belong, is 35km away and Oschatz slightly less. Börln is 50km from Leipzig and a little further from Dresden.
South of Börln lies the Collm, 315m above sea level. At the foot of this hill, it is said, began the history of Börln.
The first signs of civilisation in the town are from the Bronze Age and many graves can still be found between Schildau and Ochsensaal. On the border of the river between Börln and Bortwitz, a farmer once found an urn, evidencing this theory.
The area was originally settled by Slavs and German settlers arrived between the 4th and 8th centuries. The last Slav tribe to live in the area was called the Daleminzier.
In 929 Burg Meißen was erected and colonisation occured under King Heinrich I.
On 26 April 1200, Markgraf Dietrich confirmed the ownership of two pieces of land in Ottiweg to Petrus de Borlin and in Birmenitz to Laudo von Döbeln. Börln was therefore named after Petrus de Borlin.
In 1327 the Slav language was replaced by German as the official language. The name was spelled in various ways: Borlin 1200, Burlin 1244, Burulyn 1385, Berln 1457, Borulin 1472, Borlen 1505, Borlein 1528, Borlenn 1539, Borle 1550, Börlen 1694 and 1730, since which the current spellin g has been retained.
In the 14th Century, the von Bernsdorf family owned Börln.
In 1430 the Hussite War caused much damage to the village. It is not known whether Börln had a Wasserburg (moated fort) at this time, whether it was destroyed by Hussites or was reconstructed as there are no records. The Rittergut is believed to have been ruined for a long period. Nevertheless, the cellar of the moated fort dating from about 1100 is still to be found in the castle cellars.
In 1443, Martin von Bernsdorf sold Börln to three brothers named Nischwitz. In the second half of the 15th Century, the fourth aristocratic family took ownership of Börln, the von Schleinitz family. This family remained there for over a century, until 1605. The von Schleinitz family had much wealth from the silver mines in Freiberg. In 1620, Churfürst Johann Georg I of Saxony took over the Rittergut which meant large tracts of forest in the neighbouring Dahlener Heide remained intact.
From 1609 to 1618 Börln was owned by Hans Christoph von Kottwitz. Later on, the Von Döring family appeared (and was presumably still there after the Swedish Invasion in 1637) and stayed until about 1780 after which it was owned by Hans Dietrich von Plötz.
In 1643 Börln was left with only four houses but the Schloss, the Herrenhaus, the Rectory and the Church were left untouched by the 30-Years' War. In 1782 there was a new owner, Martin Mathias Pfister, "Herr auf Börln und Radegast". Börln stayed in his possession until 1838; he died without issue. According to a purchase agreement of 1839, Graf Zech von Burkersroda purchased the village from Freifrau von Pfister for 180,000 Thalers.
As the Count and his family were absent most of the time, he used the castle as a summer holiday home and the land was leased. The farmland was measured in 1839 as 600ha and the forest at 40ha. Until the Soviet invasion in 1945, the property remained in the family. Graf Zech von Burkersroda was the Ambassador to The Hague in The Netherlands until 1941 after which he was recalled and lived at the castle, taking care of the park personally. His wife Isa was a daughter of Theobold von Bethmann-Hollweg, Reichs Chancellor until 1917. A kind woman, she did much for the village children whose fathers were away in the war, and for homeless children.
The Castle
Schloss Börln was built in the late baroque style on the foundations of the old fort. In 1800 it was completely renovated by its owner Pfister and the neo-renaissance additions can still be seen today. Further developments took place in 1880 in the "Gründerzeit" style under Graf Zech von Burkersroda. Modernisation in the 1930s after a storm resulted in the disappearance of the gable and two sandstone-surrounded windows from the roof. These will be rebuilt.
Evidence of the moated fort dating from about 1100 can be seen in the cellar. The moat is under the protection of the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte (State Museum for Ancient History).
The Rittergut owned a brewery (1899) and a dairy (1921), the water mill was built in 1732 and the sheep farm buildings are now converted into riding stables and an hotel. In 1880, the sheep farm delivered the best quality wool to the Oschatz area. The distillery was torn down without seeking permission in 2001.
The gardens included the Schloss Park with an orangery and a lake. The "Orangerie" is in a very poor state of repair but will soon be placed under a monument commission protection order.
The Soviet Army took Graf Zech von Burkersorda from his house to Bautzen and murdered him, although he was anti-Hitler. His wife Isa, a daughter of the Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg and her daughters were transported along with other aristocrats to Bautzen, Grimma, Schloss Colditz and Rügen before they finally made it to the West. Margarethe, Frau von Kirchbach, died in 1975 and her younger sister Gisela, who was awared the German Cross for Services to Disabled Children, died in November 2003 in Munich. Their only brother died in 1934 of tuberculosis, aged 22.
Administration of the Rittergut passed to the Soviets in 1945. The castle became a halfway house for 20 lost children who didn't know their own names in some cases. After the children's homes were found, the ground floor was used as a school and the other floors as a retirement home until 2002.
In 1946-51, as part of the so-called Land Reform, which was nothing other than theft, the East German government expropriated the castle, 800 hectares of land and all contents including personal items.
The furniture was partly stolen but much was officially handed over in 1950 to a central deposit and disappeared. Remaining items were taken by staff running the home.
Land was redistributed to the new collectivised farming unit and some small plots were allocated to Neubauer (New Farmers). Großbauer (Large Farmers) were threatened with awful measures and for the most part, handed over their livestock, tools and farms to the new collectivised unit. The previous tenant Herr Gey was shot by the Russians and all his possessions stolen by the new communist leader of the village.
It is fortunate that Schloss Börln survived, mainly because it was occupied by old persons and used as a scholl, for many other castles were exploded by German Communists after the war to signal that "Feudalism" had ended.
In 1972 there were 70 retired persons living in the home and by 1979/80 a total of 130.
After the fall of the Wall in 1989 therre were 85 residents. A new retirement home was built in Dahlen and the inhabitants left at Christmas 2002.
A search for a new owner began in 2000, following earlier advice from the monument commission authorities and Landkreis Torgau-Oschatz that the castle was no longer appropriate to be used as a retirement home.
On 22 July 2003, Schloss Börln was sold to Roderick Hinkel, who has his roots in the area. He will fully restore the castle and grounds, to be used as a family home but also for the community, for cultural events and as a core centre of culture for the village.
The Church in Börln
The first church in Börln was recorded in 1346 but this was probably destroyed during the Hussite War and a new church was erected in the 14th century. Nevertheless, the old chapel in the castle grounds, in the "Gardener's House" containing a healing well might date from 1200.
In 1609-1610 this church was enlarged and a tower added. The current form dates from 1732 and is in the baroque style. Nothing is known about the architect. In 1861-62 the church interior was renewed in new gothic style, including the chancel and baptismal font. The organ, which can still be found in the church, was built by the Dresden Court organ builder, Jehmlich, in 1866.
The church was restored in 1990 and the organ, fully restored, was played for the first time again on 19 September 1995.
Between 1539 and 2004 there have been a total of 30 ministers in office.
To the left of the main entrance to the church, there is a memorial stone to the murdered son of a merchant from Liegnitz in Silesia, who was murdered on his way from Börln to Dahlen in 1684. The stone was erected by his father.
The church became well known in 1989, when plans became public for the erection of a nuclear power station in Schwarzer Kater, a district of Börln, leading to protests by about 500 people. The fall of the Wall removed this danger.
Julius Graf Zech von Burkersroda
Julius Graf Zech von Burkersroda inherited Rittergut Börln from his father, whose father in turn purchased Börln in 1839. Graf Zech made his career in the diplomatic service and was posted to Finland. Thereafter he was appointed Ambassador to The Hague, where he remained until 1941. Anti-Nazi, he was tricked into believing that Germany would not invade Holland and this was his message to the Dutch. Nevertheless, in 1941, the German Army entered Holland and Graf Zech was placed in an unenviable position. He retired to Börln and spent his last years with his wife Countess Isa, a daughter of Reichs Chancellor Theobold von Bethmann-Hollweg who was probably named after her French paternal grandmother Isabelle.
Graf Zech studied at Heidelberg University and was a member of the student organisation Corps Saxo-Borussia Heidelberg. This Corps has kindly supplied a photograph of the young Count in 1904.
Russian soldiers took Graf Zech from Schloss Börln in 1945, to Bautzen. He never returned. His grave is unknown. All of his property was confiscated. He is remembered in Börln as a kind man who served his country and who obtained much pleasure from his house and gardens which will be restored to his memory.
