With courage, mortar, and without millions (NDR series)
Welcome to the East—where alleys stretch on endlessly, manor houses crumble, and dreams are nothing short of big. The NDR series “With Courage, Mortar and Without Millions” follows people who embark on the adventure of reviving a manor house. In the first episode from 2013 we meet three impressive protagonists: a pharmaceutical manager with a passion for cement, a countess with noble blood, and a widowed single father fighting his way through a castle. Sounds wild? It is.
Part 1: Sönke Johannsen – Pharma Executive with a Castle Allergy (and Love for It)
Sönke Johannsen is not just anyone: he develops medications for an international corporation, jets between Zurich and Copenhagen—and renovates an entire manor house in Dersentin on the side. How did this happen? Very simple: “I raised my hand at the auction,” he says wryly. The house was listed for one euro—he paid just under six figures for it.
The property is in catastrophic shape: cracks in the walls, load-bearing walls missing, GDR-era modifications have made the building unstable. Sönke pitches in himself—not just out of idealism, but also for budget reasons. One of his typical missions: haggling for 8 wall anchors at €2.24 each—worth every cent.
He lives there with his Argentine wife Adriana, who eventually even gives the project a name: “La Dersentina”—sounds like an estancia, but is actually 1,000 m² of brickwork and construction chaos. Despite freezing winters (30 m³ of firewood each year!), constant setbacks, and stressful logistics (house, job, construction site), Sönke says: “Others buy lipstick—I buy cement mortar.”
Part 2: Christina von Ahlefeldt & Knut Splett-Henning – Noblesse Oblige (and a Lot of Potatoes)
Just a few kilometers away: the manor house Rensow, between Laage and Gnoien. This is home to Countess Christina von Ahlefeldt and her husband Knut Splett-Henning with their children Wilhelmine and Bendix. They bought the ruin from the municipality over ten years ago—not millions in their pockets, but plenty of style and know-how.
Christina only found out later: her ancestors had once lived nearby. Nobility obliges. Today, the house is a complete work of art with over 300 years of building history, late baroque floor plans, antique furniture, guest rooms, and a manicured estate park with hawthorn hedges, a copper beech from 1820, and Skudde sheep.
Knut, a trained diplomat, is now a hobby farmer with a passion for working the earth. Potato varieties like “Bamberger Hörnchen” and “Blue Swedes” are grown in the garden. Heating? Rustic. “We retreat to two rooms, the rest is cold splendor.”
It’s a lifestyle like that of a century ago—stockpiling for winter, open doors in the summer, warm kitchen welcomes in winter. Guests visit regularly, and for dinner there’s crackle roast with market vegetables and red wine. A vacation apartment upstairs brings extra income.
Part 3: Phillip Kaszay – Widower, Draftsman, Sole Fighter with Daughter Paula
The third in the group is Phillip Kaszay from Ulm. For 15 years, he dreamed of owning a manor house. When his wife died during childbirth with their second child, he decided: “Now I have nothing left to lose.” He bought Kobrow Manor—a chaotic mix of construction site, dream, and labyrinth.
The house had sat empty for decades, was municipally owned during GDR times, and is now full of strange rooms, stairways, and doors. Phillip started alone—supported by the heritage authority and a tight budget using his wife’s life insurance payout. The biggest investment: faithfully restored windows true to the historic original.
Phillip is a draftsman—which helps. Still, despite clear plans, the work is overwhelming. “You’re never finished with a house like this. But being finished isn’t really the goal.” His daughter Paula is there every day—kindergarten and the castle are right next to each other. And her future room is the most important milestone.
One Year of Renovation: Highs, Lows, Neighbors & Sausage
Over the course of the documentary, you see how much heart and how many euros all three parties invest.
- Sönke battles GDR-era construction sins in the cellar, installs decorative gables from Argentina, and negotiates for every euro. Even with grants, he needs more money—wildlife fencing, gravel, new foundations.
- Christina & Knut celebrate timeless baroque romance with cuisine and animal husbandry, run small-scale farming, and even open their home to photographers.
- Phillip hauls windows, lays electrical lines, cooks for Paula, and pushes on. His motto: “After experiencing the finitude of life, you rethink a lot of things.”
Manor House Facts on the Side
- Dersentin Manor: near Güstrow, bought at auction for under €100,000, renovation costs: unknown but high—facade, roof, cellar, garden, heating.
- Rensow Manor: owned for 10+ years, large part renovated by their own hands, vacation apartment available.
- Kobrow Manor: listed, renovation in stages, main expenses so far: windows and utilities (water/electric).
Estimated costs: Each project quickly tallies up to €50,000–200,000 in renovations—especially with landmark requirements and heating/window work. Over the years, it becomes even more. Year by year, as future episodes through 2023 will show.
Restoration Is No Walk in the Park—But a Life’s Project
The first episode of this NDR documentary is many things—but it’s no glossy TV. It’s dirty, cold, and honest. That’s what makes it so charming. Each of the three main characters battles with different means—but all with the same goal: bringing history to life.
Renovating a manor isn’t about increasing property value. It’s about embarking on an adventure—with all its costs, setbacks, and moments of happiness.
Looking for inspiration? Here it is. Need motivation? Watch the show. Thinking of rescuing a manor yourself? Start now.
Watch the first episode of the NDR series on YouTube:
Note: All information is based on the first episode of the NDR docuseries “With Courage, Mortar and Without Millions”, first aired in 2013. Quotes and stories are taken from the show.
Questions for you:
- Have you ever renovated a house?
- Would you want to live or work in a manor house?
- Where would your dream property be located in eastern Germany?
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