Since 1884, the Pellengahr-Gröblinghoff family has characterised Haus Geist in Oelde - a life dedicated to agriculture. Julius Pellengahr-Gröblinghoff is the fifth generation to run the business. In this interview, he talks about new ideas within old walls and describes what he has learnt about his home far away from Münsterland.
It starts on the way here: a narrow, tarmac road, actually a simple farm track, leads through an avenue of chestnut trees directly to the farmstead. Everything becomes quieter, more natural. As you drive onto the farm, a complex of lawns, trees and meadows opens up where the horses run. Then there are the ponds that meander around the entire courtyard and the residential building. And of course the old walls, which give the place its character and really round off the overall picture. Haus Geist is an active farm and nothing sterile that is only maintained for visitors. There is real life here - our horses, our dog, two cats. It is the centre of our work and life. We preserve the past and keep it alive instead of simply storing it away or refurbishing it.
It's special that so many generations have worked here. Our family history also gives us the responsibility to continue the business.
For example, how we built a dam because Haus Geist is surrounded by water. As children, we were always out and about in nature. As well as playing, we grew up knowing that there was work to be done here day in, day out. And you can learn early on to pick up a broom, rake the leaves or mow the lawn. It's part of the job, I enjoyed it from an early age and never interpreted it as work. I was then increasingly involved in the business.
I wanted to do something in agriculture, but I could also see myself doing something other than the classic option on Haus Geist. After leaving school, I went into agricultural training and then started my degree. There are many interesting opportunities to gain a foothold in the agricultural sector. At some point I realised: The whole thing is not an either-or, but a both-and. The past 140 years at Haus Geist have been one of constant change, with branches of the business constantly being added and removed. Haus Geist offers a lot in addition to farming, which is my passion, but not only. In my eyes, there is still room for development - it's this mix that I want.
I realised how much freedom I have to really implement ideas. An important realisation came during an internship in a larger medium-sized company: There I experienced how long it can take for decisions to be finalised. Some guidelines seemed illogical to me, but they still had to be adhered to. That's when I realised that I can shape things myself at home and at the same time bear a great deal of responsibility. And without excuses: If something doesn't work, I can't blame it on others - I'm responsible. That's exactly what I see as a privilege.
I saw how exciting, beautiful and thrilling the world can be and how many interesting impulses you get in other places. At the same time, I've learnt to appreciate what we have here. From the outside, it really was a new perspective on my home and the opportunities here.
We lived and worked as tenants at Haus Geist for a long time. I grew up taking everything very humbly and being grateful that we can and are allowed to farm here - always with the realisation that it can be finite. After all these years, we had the opportunity to buy the farm and the house, and now I have a completely new framework: a different commitment to the house and more planning security for investments in order to be able to develop the business in the long term. Which doesn't mean that the humility has disappeared.
It's a big risk to invest and buy here. Maintaining a farmstead, and an old moated castle at that, is an enormous challenge in terms of building technology. It's a huge task for me, which I want to fulfil as best I can with a great deal of dedication. The connection to Haus Geist - having grown up here, loving life here and wanting to live here - motivates me enormously.
It's great to cultivate the land around our farm in all directions every year anew. Sowing crops, seeing them through the year, finally harvesting them and marketing them directly to the end customer has a lot to do with self-determination. I make decisions every day and later see directly what effect they have. Not everything is in my hands, you are very dependent on the weather. There are times when you have to work at the weekend or at unusual times of the day or night because the weather doesn't recognise weekdays. At the same time, farming gives you something that other professions don't offer: At the end of the day, you can see what you have achieved. Driving back to the farm with a full trailer of your own harvest is an incredibly rewarding feeling.
Horses have been kept and bred on the farm for generations. Oats were grown for them for a long time - and partly also for the co-operative. At some point, when sales declined and customers increasingly asked for muesli, my father invested in a small muesli mixing plant. He started mixing our grain with bought-in components such as minerals, herbs or maize flakes to produce Haus Geist horse muesli. It has since become the mainstay of our business. This is how we market our barley and oats today - with a product that we have developed ourselves and whose USP lies in our own grain as the main component. The entire value chain is at Haus Geist.
In autumn 2024, the first free wedding ceremony took place here in the garden, followed by further celebrations in the first season. From 2026, couples can have a civil wedding at Haus Geist. Haus Geist now stands on three legs: arable farming, horse feed production and the event location. Farming is our permanent foundation, horse feed production is the branch of the business that my father has built up, and the event location is the newest area, which is just starting out and is in great demand.
It was exciting to see how a video goes viral. My sister, who looks after our online presence, recorded it and skilfully uploaded it as a reel. It was a random snapshot: our horses made a great picture in the meadow. Of course, it would be cool to achieve something like this again in the future with planned shots.
We get a lot of positive feedback from people who were curious and visit as part of guided tours or events. We are also pleased when people continue to respect our privacy. This sometimes gets a little mixed up and could be better communicated in future through signposting. In principle, I am open to providing insights.
There are many anecdotes that have been passed down from generation to generation. For example, the diplomatic hunts with the Federal President took place at Haus Geist. And from the time when the Jesuits had their religious order here, there are some rather dubious stories about how they are said to have traded indulgences.
I would like to continue to run Haus Geist in the spirit of the Pellengahr-Gröblinghoff family and not focus too much on myself. Of course, I am the central person who continues to run the business, but the whole thing doesn't work without the family - without my partner, parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and everyone else who is part of it. Behind it all is a large team that sticks together as a family, and that is central to me. My wish for the future is that we can continue to organise many changes, create a special place for visitors and customers and develop new things. This is how tradition and innovation come together. In this way, Haus Geist will continue to be a beautiful landmark for Oelde and the Münsterland region.
Julius Pellengahr-Gröblinghoff, born in 1996, grew up together with three siblings at Haus Geist in Oelde. The original castle was privately owned, was once bequeathed to the Jesuit order and most recently belonged to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 2025, the Pellengahr-Gröblinghoff family acquired the estate.
Information about what Haus Geist has to offer can be found at www.haus-geist-oelde.de.
