Zeidler Manor
The land surrounding the so-called “Zeidlerschloss” was first mentioned in 1427 as “Kartäuserweiher” (Carthusian Pond). The Patrician Burghard Peßler from Nuremberg received the fief from Emperor Sigismund and built a house in the middle of the pond, the “Haus im Weiher”. When the Patrician family Harsdörffer bought the estate in 1503, the documents referred to it as a manor for the first time. The property included now two “Zeidelgüter” (homesteads of medieval apiculturists). This suggests the region was a centre of apiculture, of keeping wild or half-wild bee colonies in the forest and extracting honey.
After the destruction of Feucht during the Landshut War of Succession the manor was rebuilt, only to be destroyed again during the Second War of the Margraves in 1552/1553. In 1556 the manor house was reconstructed as the tower house it is today. The principal was Dr. Christoph Gugel, consultant to the Nuremberg council. He received the property as a gift from the council under the condition that he is going to rebuild and maintain the manor house. Gugel had the relief of a “Zeidler” put over the gate that served later as blueprint for the coat of arms Feucht created in the 20th century.
From the 16th century until 1806, when the time of imperial free cities ended, the originally expansive and well-kept estate had seen 28 different owners. The reason for this is believed to be frequent disputes between the holder of the manor and the “Zeidler”. The craft of beekeeping and honey production was a highly valued one, and the “Zeidler” acted accordingly self-conscious. Emperor Karl IV had decreed a “Zeidlerprivileg” as early as in 1350, stipulating special privileges and duties for the “Zeidler”. They also had the status of forest officials with their own jurisdiction since the 13th century.
Today the manor house – and in summertime the garden as well - is used for public celebrations and events or leased out for private parties. The garden became home of a “Klapotetz” in 1996. This is a scarecrow in form of a wind wheel, widely-spread in Leutschach, Feucht’s partner community in Austria, where the “Klapotetz” is supposed to keep the birds out of the vineyards.
