Der Baron Wolfhard von Boeselager | Generationswechsel auf Schloss Höllinghofen | Timeline

Wolfhard von Böselager has been talking about his farewell speech for hours. Tomorrow is the day he has been preparing for for many years. The baron puts his life's work in the hands of his eldest daughter and his son-in-law. It's not easy for him. I couldn't sleep from 5 a.m. this morning. Because it became clear to me that many things eat up my time far too much. But I'm terribly bad at sleeping. That's why you can probably tell that I'm a bit overwhelmed. The baron will not only hand over his business, but also his castle. He will shrink away from the feudal residence with over 60 rooms and halls into a one-family house with only seven rooms. These are completely different circumstances. I've spent many days together in our house. And I've already met some of the neighbours. It's a double house, so we even have neighbours in the same house. They're not my guests, I'm not their guest. They're actually strangers, but still very close to each other. You see them every day when one of them goes to work or not. Yes, that's a good idea. Thank you. Franziskus von Ketteler, the successor. From tomorrow on, he's the son-in-law of the lord of the castle. He has to hurry. His father-in-law hates being late. The boss leaves the boat and a new boss or in this case a boss comes along. And of course we're particularly critical in this case because it's our own business, so to speak, where we want to be particularly good. Especially because we're celebrating Dr. von Böselager's 70th birthday. And especially because we're going to have a generational change tomorrow, where there will be a major change between my father-in-law and my wife. An altar. Ildiko von Ketteler-Böselager continues the life of her father. For his farewell party, she dedicated a personal gallery of pictures to him. Oh, nice, there with mummy, with a glass of champagne. And then me, to my best time. That's how round I was. That looks hideous. Excuse me? That looks hideous. Hideous? I think that's very nice. Martina Schmidt von Böselager, the third wife of the baron, wants everything to be perfect tomorrow. What do I have to do? You have to make it a little cold tonight. What do I have to do? It has to be cold here tonight. Yes, do it. Have you already turned off the heater? No, but I'll do it now. Then we should order an engineer to turn off the heater. So I just have to do it? Yes, that would be very good. And the windows too. Then I'll go to work. I prefer to earn the money with which the heat is produced, which you can then turn off here. Okay. Bye. Schloß Höllinghofen has belonged to the von Böselagers for 250 years. The family lives off the land and forestry. 2,500 hectares of forests and lands stretch across Westphalia and the Upper Sauerland. The divorced baron runs the business with more than 80 employees according to ecological rules. He is particularly proud of the Wild Forest, a nature park for visitors. Here ancient trees and rare animal and plant species can survive. Baron von Böselager is a traditionalist with a green soul. His greatest concern will be carried on in the ecological sense by his successor Höllinghofen. Nature and autumn are of course good symbols for the situation. And that the branches are full of fruits and the leaves are colorful also corresponds to my mood and my life. I just experienced how my father, when he was already 50, passed on this task to me. But since he was still so young, it was natural for me that he should still talk to me sometimes. But of course, until he was almost 80, I didn't really stand there all alone. And from that I drew the conclusion, well prepared, not too early, not at 50, but maybe at 70. But then also really and then consistently. Here is the new one. No, it's also an old one. We hang, because the day tomorrow is also very strong under the sign of the generation change, we hang on the two towers. Once a tower flag of the Kettler family and once a tower flag of the Böselager family. And now the question is, which of these 80 flags is the right tower flag here? Here, I have them. The Kettler shot is already there. Or? No. Here, this is the tower flag, I have it. That's it. It comes into the ... Yes, okay. And it's also shorter. Yes, much shorter. The last time the flag was raised on Höllinghoven was three years ago, when Franziskus von Kettler married into the family of Böselager. From the beginning it was clear, his wife is an heir and owner. He will be the manager. A very big challenge is to manage this task in a team with my wife. This is quite unusual, because usually large companies are still run by men. And also the men who are the owners. In our case, this is different. And that's the challenge. And he is happy to take on this challenge. For this, the free man even gave up the management of a successful chain of stores. We've been working on it since I can remember. My father works on it and always said, yes, when I turn 70 and so on, then ... And now this then is just tomorrow. Shoes, all right? Yes, everything is fine. The baron has learned to appreciate his son-in-law. Did you notice whether and who is picking up Aunt Meriam? Good. I've got it in my eye. I didn't know him very well. But when he is the husband of my daughter, then the question for me is, did he give the advantage or the disadvantage at all? That's just the way it is. But of course I saw how committed and talented he is. It's an extraordinary coincidence that my daughter is marrying a man. And not because of that, but by chance, who is so suitable to take over. The rush has begun. A spectacle that attracts many visitors to the wild forest every autumn. In the last two years, Wolfhard von Böselager has prepared his son-in-law for the task of managing the farm. Day by day they sat across from each other in the office and were quite critical of each other. The young free man quickly realized that the baron was only clearing his terrain step by step. And at least until the transfer, the old man kept his word. He takes his herd with him. And we don't fight. No, we don't fight. No, it's quite different. If you include humans, it's quite different with many animal species. We saw that humans are actually capable of fighting competition in a different way. It's not that I would say we didn't have any conflicts. But since it has always been very clear that I have to be there for him and that I know my father-in-law so well that I have a certain trust that he already knows why he doesn't like something or doesn't like it at the moment, it wasn't really a problem between us. Quite strong. Up there, they're still barking. Hey, hey, hey, hey. The next morning. The congratulators are on their way. Good morning. The invited guests are people from the area but also friends from far away. They want to congratulate the baron on his 70th birthday and they're looking forward to the new lord of the castle. Thank you very much for the wedding. Thank you. I wish you all the best. Thank you very much for coming. A little drop for you. Oh, thank you. The birthday is also a stage for presentations. My daughter, Fröhlich, has the initiative in the city center. Fröhlich, the mayor, sits in the office and organizes the forest and the wood. But here, the switches are well placed. In the city as well. All the mistones of the past years are forgotten today. The day is supposed to be harmonious. There are conflicts that necessarily arise when a 70-year-old man and a 36-year-old man work closely together and also share responsibility. Then there are conflicts between father-in-law and son-in-law. Then there are conflicts between the superior and the subordinate, of course. For us, everything came at once. That's why we had to find a way to manage the whole thing. A spade. It stands for building, garden, agriculture, forestry, landscape and nature conservation and not for burying the talents. And it can also be used as an extremely dangerous weapon. They are both very strong. They both work very well or do their best when they are motivated and when they feel they are doing the right thing. They both do it for me. So that you don't have to work too much for two, as I sometimes had to, you can happily share work and responsibility and pass on a decisive piece to your head of business, Franziskus. But this, I would say, hinge position in which I am, I take both of them particularly close and closer than they can be each other. Of course it's funny that I always hear where my husband despairs of my father or my father despairs of my husband. Of course, we certainly both have to learn that in some ways. In principle. And when you are older, it's not so easy and maybe not so necessary anymore. And the younger one may have to learn even more. You have to ask him yourself. But of course, there is also a learning process. The baron also has to learn one thing. From tomorrow on, other conditions of rule apply to Höllinghofen. Theoretically. After the change of occupants, the young free lord hurries to the castle. Breakfast at eight o'clock. An appointment that the baron of Böselager still considers important to instruct his son-in-law. Yes, your points are good. Do you have your calendar with you? Yes. When we get to it, we might talk about your appointments at the end, so that we can see if we have to cancel some of them or prepare some, so that we don't have to make any changes. So that we don't have enough time. Because we are pretty much behind schedule. We have this report here. It doesn't help at all. Everything in the newspaper has nothing to do with us. Okay, then I'll make a letter. I want to mention that today in the board meeting. Soon the transfer will also be legally sealed. Then Franziskus von Ketteler can set his own accents. A new computer system is to be built, and the care child Wildwald is to attract more visitors. The idea of the free lord is to found a forest kindergarten and expand the experience offers. But the advice of the father-in-law is still welcome. That was very authentic, in any case. It is true that he can illuminate many things very comprehensively and from different sides. He is a philosopher. I think he learned that well. In this respect, it is right that he refers a lot. When he said, take care of this and that problem, or think about this and that constellation, then I already have a reference assignment. This is only done briefly at one breakfast, and if there are any questions, it is later worked on for a longer time. And while Franziskus von Ketteler is working on the assignments of his father-in-law, his wife Ildiko is following a self-chosen duty. She keeps a few horses. At the moment she hardly finds time for her hobby, and also the family life is too short. I would say, if it would go on as it is at the moment, then it would not work. At the moment, the day would take 36 hours. Riding, if I can do it once a week, is great. We haven't been to the cinema for a long time. We see the little ones far too little. The whole day is taken care of by others. That's not what we imagine at all. And we don't either. We don't really manage it. In the evening after 10 or so. But most of the time we are just lying there tired from work. At the moment it doesn't work that well. But it's a transition time, I think. Hello. The couple uses the only common hour in the afternoon to discuss organizational matters. Ildiko von Ketteler-Böselager is an architect. She manages all the construction work at Hellinghofen. Oh, I have a stack of things here. Okay, should I just do that? If you don't have any special wishes. I have no wishes, except that I actually liked the previous practice quite well. Where is the baby? Walking, without us. Oh, what a pity. The noble small family still enjoys their manageable forest house. The 500-year-old castle, which they will soon move into, is a construction site. Something has to be repaired all the time. Only heavy equipment often helps. The sicker pit is annoying. It is leaking. So where does that come from now? Is it pumped down there or what? The plans are wrong again. Only the baron knows where the lines really are. That would be the fence. Yes, but of course it is not properly marked. It doesn't go that way. It goes straight here. If the organizational stress wasn't big enough, now the two have to deal with this problem and instruct the construction workers. The hectic handover also leaves its mark on the lives of the young castle owners. Of course, in our private lives, everything is unstable at every corner. I think there is already a lot at the moment. Dr. von Boeselag touched on many things before the handover, which he has not been able to do in recent years. He wanted to put it in order so that we can take it in good condition. That's why it's a little more than usual now. Hopefully. The family wants to move to Höllinghoven soon. This is one of the representative duties. It's not enough to just work here. The castle owners should also live here. The only question is how and, above all, where do you make yourself comfortable at 2,400 square meters? Theoretically, you could make a door here. I think it was closed once. It looks a bit like a door handle. You have to be careful that it doesn't get too dark up there. Here we would have our own little area. And then we could make our living room here. What do you think? For me, it's a bit of a strange idea, in mom's bedroom and stuff. That's what I was about to say. That would be a cool kitchen. And then from there into the living room. That's the corner where we didn't want to live, where we didn't want to sleep. We didn't really want to sleep here. Because we wanted to sleep in the front yard. It's a bit strange to go straight from the living room to the bathroom. But that's not our ... It's just our intimate living room, so to speak. That will be the next task, our little family, which now has a retreat in their intimacy in the little house. To transfer them to the castle in their private lives. I love it. I played hide-and-seek here. All my memories hang on it. From my perspective, it's just part of the job. Franziskus von Ketteler has learned early on that nobility is obligatory. Hunting is part of it. The old baron has always organized drive-huntings for deserving employees in autumn. Although the son-in-law doesn't particularly like hunting, he knows what he owes to his employees. The baron is tired of hunting. He intends to say goodbye to his wife Martina by strolling through his wild forest. 30 years ago, he realized the dream of his own nature park. His goal was to make the visitors aware of the connections between nature conservation and the use of nature. Von Böselager trusts that his daughter and son-in-law will be able to take good care of the forest. Franziskus von Ketteler, Von Böselager trusts that his daughter and son-in-law will be able to continue their ecological dream. Trust is good, but control is better. I'm not a prophet and I keep everything open to myself. I'm so tired at the moment that I can think about it when I'm exhausted. But that I come here from time to time, sure. Maybe there are things I can help with. There's a lot of knowledge and know-how. You think you can just make a cut and then the new one starts from scratch. That's a huge waste of knowledge and knowledge. Whether my daughter and my son-in-law need me, I'll have to wait and see. I'm actually counting on it. The Baron has decided to move into his new wife's house. He doesn't want to stand in the way of a new beginning at Höllinghofen. I'm used to having everything in every direction, kilometer-wide. Everything is designed by me. I've had it all in my hands for 50 years, more or less. It's a wonderful place here. I'm used to it. I've spent wonderful years here. It's a miracle and a blessing. Of course, with gratitude. And always with the feeling that you'll be back tomorrow. The Baron of Böselager on his way to his new home. This is where he will spend his evening of life. His future workroom is 10 square meters. This is as far as we can go. You just have to think about how you want to use and furnish this. We don't have an infinite amount of space. And a sofa to sleep on, so that a guest can sleep here. If we value the fact that you may have a chair out of the castle, then we can only put the chair here. The closet comes out, right? No. Aha. Could we maybe need a little more shelf space? I always say, for fun, I can clean out the dishwasher. I thought I had to learn that first. Or I've already learned to clean it up. But then there's a lot coming after that. Shopping, cleaning. I'll do everything. That's clear. I have to learn that. But a friend told me now that he had duties and duties all his life. Now he doesn't want to think about what he has to do all the time. He just wants to think about who he is.