Gnevkow was inhabited by west-slavic peoples, and given the flatness of the land around, Gnevkow sits on top of a sloping hill and would have made an ideal settlement for the local area.This area has changed many times according to political whims but has almost continuously been part of Pomerania in all its incarnations.

The German Settlement began in the early 13th Century with the construction of a castle at Klempenow 5 miles away in 1231.Our local church in Gnevkow was built in 1268. Gnevkow as part of the duchy of Pomerania, was ruled in succession by the Pomeranian Dukes, then Sweden.With Klempenow and Gnevkow last being in fief to Dodo zu Innhausen und Knyphausen before passing to the Swedish State and successor states in 1762.

The Dudy family appear to have held the feudal lease up until 1855. Given the significant agricultural upheavals at this time they seem to have relinquished it.

Hans Nicholai effectively managed the Pomeranian ducal estates directly for the government, and when the offer of a feudal lease came up, he took the opportunity.Unlike many of the neighbouring estates held by the von Matzahn family, the 3000 hectares that made up the estate for Gnevkow remained directly owned by the state, and Hans Nicholai was able to secure a feudal lease on the property from 1860.

Hans redeveloped the house on earlier foundations that appear to predate it by around 100 years, and then extended the house in 1920 into its current exterior form. The estate grew to be the largest sheep farm in Germany. Hans was progressive and fair with his workers by all accounts.

In 1945 the Nicholai family fled west, and the house took in many displaced refugees who were moving from eastern states.

The house was subdivided into smaller apartments and rooms. With the ground floor adapted into the doctor's surgery, library, kindergarten, and the main drawing room used for village festivities.The estate lands were collectivised and separated from the house.

The house after reunification continued to be used as the main hub for the village and surrounding area, until limited by budget and a concern for its structural integrity forced the gemeinde to sell the property over 2010-2011.

The estate lands, like most land across east Germany, was sold off separately as part of the reunification securitisation processes and have never returned to public ownership. The land remains in huge blocks owned often by the same organisations that bought them in 1990-2000.

I purchased Gutshaus Gnevkow in May 2011 at auction. It was in a terrible state, but given I couldn't drive at the time, the train station with its direct service to Berlin was highly attractive.

We spent most of the first year getting to grips with understanding the house and resolving immediate crises. The house required extensive work. There were no 90% grants for me - the best I received was for 33% of the cost of the roof, windows and stucco.

My tilers were Portuguese, my plasterers Polish, electricians German among others, and by some amazing fortune we were able to open in November 2018.

It would be fair to say that Covid changed everything. And overnight I was no longer the 'mad' Englishman.
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Business also changed overnight, as residents of Berlin and Hamburg discovered the beautiful countryside of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern — between Rügen, Usedom, and the inland cities — as a new escape.