Ansitz Freienfeld – Manor
Nr. 9
The original building of Freienfeld Manor goes back to the year 1521, later it was possibly radically renovated in the late Gothic style.
The original ground floor is occupied by a vaulted hall. The cross vaults rest on two middle columns and six pilasters. The vertical arrangement of rooms for living and winemaking in one building, typical for all later manors in Unterland and Überetsch, is already fully visible here.
In 1619, the west annex of Freienfeld Manor was built. In the full-length hall on the second floor, the Gothic beamed ceiling has been preserved. Two parlors have coffined ceilings. The roomy middle hall on the second floor has a biforate window to the south and a beautifully worked coffined ceiling. The open fireplace still exists. Though difficult to decipher, an “Indermauer” family coat of arms is painted on the stone frame of the entry door. The shield shows a hooded little man behind a wall. The entire manor was originally surrounded by a crenellated wall.
In the northern end of the building, there are two drinking rooms, one above the other. The drinking room on the first floor contains well-preserved frescoes: on the east wall of this room two cherubs above a door niche; one of the angel figures carries the Truefer family coat of arms, the other that of the Hausmanns. This is an example of a so-called alliance coat of arms for a married couple, in this case, presumably Brigitta Hausmann and Christian Truefer. It may be that the latter built the manor, as he was a fast social climber and was even a judge in Kurtatsch in 1521.
In the wall arch on the right towards the east, there is a scene from the “Metamorphoses” by the Latin poet Ovid, in the one towards the south the “Judgment of Paris” can be seen.
Around 1610 the manor was enlarged toward the west. Since 1903 Freienfeld Manor belongs to the village of Kurtatsch.
Worthy of mention is the chapel on the first floor. The crucifiction altar in the chapel with St. Anne, the Virgin Mary and Holy Child stems from the beginning of the 18th century. Two murals, the Last Supper and the Adoration of the Magi, decorate the chapel.
In Freienfeld Manor, there are several large cellars with elegantly curved vaults. The deepest cellar contains a “Ziggl”, a well for supplying water.
Before Cantina Kurtatsch built its current winery in 1920s, their wine was made in the cellar rooms of Freienfeld Manor. Cantina Kurtatsch has recently rented the meanwhile perfectly restored cellar rooms to mature and store their best wines in barrique barrels in its perfect atmosphere.
The last wine on the guided tour of the Kurtatsch Informative Wine Trail is usually tasted in the cellar of Freienfeld Manor.
The most important changes in ownership: In der Maur von Freienfeld zu Strelburg from 1640, Millstetter zu Milpach from 1675, Enzenberg from1777, Indermaur zu Strehlburg and Freudenfeld from 1780, Mair, Anrather from 1825, polit. village of Kurtatsch from 1903.
