A Norwegian architect with a passion for baroque manor houses is bringing new life to a historic castle on Germany's Rügen Island. Lars Jacob Hvinden-Haug, a professor at the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU), has dedicated himself to restoring Schloss Udars, a manor house located in the northern part of the island that suffered significant deterioration during 40 years under East German rule and 15 years of abandonment.
Hvinden-Haug, who holds a doctorate in baroque architecture and has worked on restoration projects in Estonia and Poland, decided to apply his expertise to his own property. "At some point I said to myself, if I can use my skills and knowledge to preserve historic houses, why not for one of my own?" he explained. The castle recently hosted its first concert as part of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival's "Sleeping Beauties" series, which features performances in dormant castles throughout the region.
The Norwegian architect's connection to Udars Castle came through an unlikely friendship with Tilo Uischner, a native of Saxony whom he met through mutual friends in Berlin. In 2012, when Hvinden-Haug wanted to explore Rügen Island, both he and his partner lacked valid driver's licenses - his had been stolen and she had forgotten hers. Uischner, who could provide driving services along with his credit card and ID, agreed to chauffeur the couple under specific conditions: "I'll drive you if you pay for gas, food, and drinks, and I will eat a lot and drink even more."
When they first arrived at the manor house, it was nearly overgrown and in poor condition with most windows broken. However, Hvinden-Haug noted that despite its deteriorated state, the building showed no substantial structural damage or dry rot. "We went to the hardware store and bought brooms, shovels, buckets, air mattresses, and plastic sheeting for the windows to first fix up the great hall so we could spend the night there," he recalled.
Uischner, who had moved to Berlin after military service to study business at his parents' request and later worked as a personnel officer at the Treuhand privatization agency, had always harbored artistic ambitions. "I actually always wanted to be an artist," he said, explaining how he quit his job and worked in various Berlin galleries. Together with Hvinden-Haug, he began the painstaking restoration work: "Step by step, we turned the jungle back into a park and cleared the chestnut-lined, probably Slavic rampart system."
The origins of Schloss Udars date back to the early 17th century, with a rich and turbulent history spanning centuries. After numerous changes of ownership, a devastating fire in 1723, and bankruptcy with forced auction in 1898, the estate eventually passed to Carl August Beug, the Norwegian consul in Stralsund, and later to a seed breeding company in Granskevitz that still exists today, according to author Sabine Bock. The castle once served to supply the Hiddensee monastery, and on November 13, 1731, when Rügen belonged to Sweden, Swedish King Frederick I even spent the night there with his 200-person entourage.
During the East German era, refugees lived in the house, which had been divided into 17 apartments. Some former residents still visit occasionally to inquire about the restoration progress, the current castle owners report. The building bears deep scars from 40 years of socialist rule and 15 years of vacancy, requiring extensive rehabilitation work.
For his ambitious project, Hvinden-Haug felt that investing in a vacation region made more sense than somewhere in the middle of nowhere. "But we definitely don't want to build condominiums or vacation rentals," he assured. "Rather, we want to restore the house carefully, historically authentically, and with the necessary respect for the fourth dimension - time." He envisions future use for private and cultural purposes, with the recent Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival concert serving as a preview of the castle's potential.
The restoration duo is taking their time to understand the house's various construction phases and incorporate the best elements from each period. When part of the ceiling collapsed, they made a remarkable discovery: "We found printed wallpapers underneath with motifs of parrots, landscapes, and flowers," Hvinden-Haug explained. "We were able to restore them with help from the German Foundation for Monument Protection."
Significant progress has already been made on the property. The facade and staircase, accessed via 300-year-old wooden floors, are nearly complete, and the architect has furnished the rooms with contemporary furniture brought from his Norwegian home during his regular travels between the fjords and Udars Bay. The restoration work has been well-received by the local community - on the day the facade was completed, the entire local population came to thank them for the beautification of their area.
Uischner shares his partner's unhurried approach to completing the restoration. "This house contains over 400 years of energy from those who built it or lived here," he reflected. "When that's gone, you can only see it on the internet, but you can't truly comprehend it." Their philosophy emphasizes preserving not just the physical structure but also the historical essence and cultural memory embedded within the castle's walls, ensuring that future generations can experience authentic connections to the past rather than mere digital representations.
