Review

The volunteers will help with the restoration of the roof construction of the oldest part of the manor.

Full description

Gantikow Manor is situated hundred kilometres north of Berlin. The manor is surrounded by a nice village with a medieval church and a lake. The building is a picturing example of a former baroque building which has been changed in the late 19th century in neo-baroque style. Over centuries, the houses belonged to the Earls von Platen, which sold it in 1872 to a civil family which started soon, in 1877, with the modernisation of the house and kept it in their ownership till 1945. After World War II, the house was first used as a refugee shelter and after that the community used the house as a village centre, hosting the community office, the local store, the school, the kindergarten, the doctor's room, the kitchen of the agricultural cooperative and several apartments. Since around ten years it is used as a seminar house, mainly by non-profit organisations, youth initiatives and universities. The house is surrounded by a beautiful garden with old trees which originally reached up to the lake. The manor has a comparable small annex which remains from the original Baroque building. Its current roof construction had been erected in the first half of the 20th century, but it was badly designed and got broken in the meantime. Originally, it was planned to replace only the broken parts of the construction, but when opening the ceiling it became obvious that the beams had been made from cottonwood which is not appropriate material for roof construction. Therefore, a new roof construction will be erected which follows the shape of the original one. Finally, the construction will be reroofed. The works will be lead by a master of carpentry who has additional education as “Restorer in Handicraft”. Within the framework of the educational part other historic roof constructions in the village and the region – in the manor house itself, the village church and in the town nearby – will be studied and discussed.

Who do you need?

Language skills

English

Additional information

Participants have to take part for the whole time of the project. Be informed, that during all projects the work will take place also on rainy and cold days and be prepared for that. In general, the language spoken in the project is English. But in all camps there is also the possibility to practice German with other volunteers, camp leaders and the local people.

What to do

Additional information

The working part is 6 hours per day.

Conditions

More information about conditions

The accommodation is very simple; there are shared rooms with simple beds or mattresses. Shower, toilet and kitchen are at the place. The equipment is simple but fair. The meals will be prepared together as they are part of the community life, what means that every participant will be responsible for the meal at least once during its stay. So it would be very nice if the participants could bring typical recipes from home in order to introduce each other to the preparation of food from all over the world. All costs linked to the project are covered, including food, accommodation, insurance and transportation during the stay at the project. Nevertheless individual travel insurance is also recommended to be bought by a participant. Travel costs to and from the camp place, visa costs are not covered. Participants should organize their journey to and from the project place by themselves and on their own expenses. Furthermore participants should bring their own pocket money.

Additional conditions

Additional information

This is a European Heritage Volunteers project, which combines practical work for the preservation or restoration of a cultural heritage site with an extensive educational part that gives the theoretical background for the hands-on works and provides deeper heritage linked knowledge. The camp place is situated in a small village in rural area, so the participants should not expect busy places and normal city activities for the leisure time during the working days. Small trips in walking distance are possible in the afternoon. On the weekends it is possible to organize an excursion to nearby cities or to have other leisure activities.