Die Adelsfamilie Lehndorff in Steinort

Using the example of the Counts of Lehndorff and their Steinort estate, this book expands our understanding of living conditions on East Prussian estates from the 18th to the 20th century. It is thus intended as a contribution to the history of the nobility and social history.

Drawing on primary sources, the author paints a picture of aristocratic and peasant life on the Steinort estate (now Sztynort in Poland), situated on Lake Mauersee in southern East Prussia, in Masuria, where the Lehndorffs resided for over 500 years until 1945. Placed within its historical context, the history of East Prussia and the East Prussian nobility is brought to life through the example of the everyday worlds of the count’s family and the peasants and lower peasant classes working on the estate.

In doing so, the study fills a research gap that is now difficult to close due to the destruction of aristocratic archives caused by the war and its aftermath. The estate and family archive of the Counts of Lehndorff in Steinort, held at the archive sites in Berlin-Dahlem, Leipzig and Olsztyn, is unique in terms of the scope and breadth of content of the surviving sources. The topics range from settlement to the construction of the manor house, from feudal law to the exercise of noble authority, from village constitution to peasant life on the noble estate, from religion to education, and from politics to the lives of noblewomen.