Cantzheim wine estate and guesthouse in Kanzem

In a spot where monks lived and laboured 500 years ago, a remarkable sightseeing destination has now arisen for gourmet travellers and architecture fans.

Anna and Stephan Reimann’s Cantzheim wine estate on the Saar is a true treat for the eyes, with its late Baroque estate house flanked at a respectful distance by two modern buildings.

The elegant older structure was erected in 1740 to serve the cloister's winegrowing estate and then spent many years in the ownership of the Diocesan Priest Seminary of Trier.

Anna Reimann’s father, Georg Thoma, first purchased it in 2007. He then commissioned renowned architect Max Dudler to renovate the historic estate house and its two ancillary buildings.

Against the imposing backdrop of the vineyard, the late baroque manor house "Cantzheim" in Kanzem near Trier unfolds a fascinating aesthetic effect. The architect Max Dudler has revived this extraordinary connection between architecture and landscape through the renovation and modernisation of the building. The two additional new buildings Orangerie and Remise maintain a respectful distance and thus emphasize the solitary effect of the manor house. Bernhard Korte’s unobtrusive landscape architecture creates a harmonious setting for the ensemble. For the interior of the house, the premise was not to touch the original structure, but to modernize the rooms for a contemporary use.

All walls of the two-storey coach house including the roof are made of rammed concrete. The earthy tones of the surrounding hills are reflected in the handcrafted stamping layers. The orangery of steel and glass on the west side of the house is in a sense the counterpart to the monolithic coach house. Its filigree structure takes up the verticality of the vines dominating the landscape.

Since its completion, the property has been used as a guest house, wine cellar, venue and private apartment. The sophisticated design of the interiors is in harmony with the respectful handling of the existing building. Three guest rooms are located on the upper floor of the main building, two more in the coach house. The historic barrel vault cellar serves as the venue. In the heart of the Baroque building, a very special room remained completely untouched in its original character: The former chapel, vertically illuminated by historical light shafts, exudes a sacral atmosphere, reminiscent of the earlier use.