A palace in Grünau

Although this beautiful architectural jewel in Grünau, a district of Leipzig, is not a palace, it was once the prestigious private residence of the Sack family. The families of the brothers Paul and Hans Sack, the sons of Rudolph Sack, the plough pioneer and founder of the company Rud. Sack, lived there until 1945. The company was expropriated after the Second World War, transferred to state ownership and was then called BBG (BodenBearbeitungsGeräte). AMAZONEN-WERKE took over the company in 1990 after German reunification.

The villa is part of a 200 hectare site which, apart from the two spacious parks, includes the Rud. Sack test centre with numerous facilities and buildings. It was not only Sack’s machines and equipment which were tested here, there were also specially created facilities such as a swimming pool, a lake with a boathouse, a restaurant with a bowling alley and vegetable gardens, which were available to the employees. Other residential buildings for members of the Sack family and for senior staff extended across the grounds. 
Some of the houses are still in use today, while other facilities in the parks have been demolished, rededicated or have become dilapidated and overgrown. After the war, the villa was first used as a tuberculosis home, then as a district hospital, and after further conversions, the hospital was given the name “Robert Koch Clinic”. Cultural events were now held in Robert Koch Park, in keeping with the name of the clinic. The clinic was in use up until a few years ago, but then moved because the building was badly in need of restoration. 

It was then used only sporadically for cultural events and family celebrations. An association, Komm e.V., has been founded to take care of the park and the building in the meantime. It also intends to campaign for the park to be renamed “Rudolph Sack Park”. It is important to the association that the name of the plough pioneer is remembered.