One afternoon we went to visit the winery, vinyards, and palace belonging to Dr. Georg Prinz zur Lippe in Proschwitz. His family were nobles in the region prior to WWII but were forced out when Germany was divided in two. After German reunification, Prinz zur Lippe worked to slowly buy their property back and restore them to their original condition. He could legally demand his property back but decided instead to purchase property when he could, and to only buy property that was not being used for some other purpose (like residences or a school).
What was striking during our entire visit was that he was enthusiastic about his wine and wanted to discuss the renovation of the winery but rarely spoke about his family. They did so much they could have bragged about - including protecting a school, renovating buildings around the area, and opening the family palace for community events - but he didn't unless. We kept asking more questions about his family like their escape to western Germany, their decision to come back, etc., because we found it so fascinating to hear about history from such a personal perspective. It was really cool and nice to meet such an open and genuine person.
The renovated winery
The family palace, which was being set up for a Meissner Porcelein Fair. We go to get close-up looks of Meissner Porcelein pieces, some of which were worth millions.
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