Camp Leader at Lohra Castle – Living and Leading in a Medieval Castle | OH-C03 | 2026-08-01 - 2026-09-12 | RENO,MANU,SOCI | Age: 20 - 26

Open Houses is a non-profit network dedicated to the preservation and reactivation of historic buildings and sites as shared cultural spaces. Rather than treating heritage as static or purely commemorative, Open Houses understands historic places as environments shaped through continued use, dialogue, and collective responsibility. The organisation initiates and supports projects that combine hands-on conservation with cultural, educational, and community-oriented activities, enabling sites to remain physically accessible and socially meaningful. The main objective of Open Houses is to reactivate historic sites as living parts of their communities, supported by international volunteers who contribute to their conservation and rehabilitation through practical engagement. The origins of the organisation date to the mid-1980s, when volunteer groups in East Germany began restoring endangered village churches. These efforts quickly evolved beyond repair work into the reanimation of the buildings as lived spaces for exhibitions, music, discussion, and communal engagement. This approach (linking practical preservation with active participation) remains central to Open Houses today.

Work: The Camp Leader at Lohra Castle coordinates the social and organisational framework of an international workcamp taking place within a large medieval castle complex in rural Thuringia. The position serves as the central link between volunteers, technical instructors, and the Open Houses team. The Camp Leader structures daily life on site. This includes welcoming participants, organising schedules for work and shared responsibilities, coordinating cooking and cleaning teams, managing basic finances, documenting the project process, and planning leisure activities. In close cooperation with the technical leadership, the Camp Leader ensures constructive group dynamics and a stable working environment. The role requires reliability, initiative, and the ability to take responsibility for a diverse international group in a non-formal setting. It offers practical experience in leadership, intercultural coordination, and project organisation within a heritage conservation context. Future Camp Leaders participate once as regular volunteers before assuming the role in order to become familiar with the structure and expectations of the programme. Camp Leaders receive an allowance of €200 per two-week workcamp, as well as accommodation and meals on site.

Accomodation and food: Accommodation: Participants will be accommodated in a historic building within the Castle complex. Shared rooms and essential facilities, including sanitary amenities and kitchen access, will be provided to ensure a functional and comfortable stay within the heritage setting. Food: The meals will be prepared together as they are part of the community life, what means that every participant will be responsible for the meal at least once during its stay. So, it would be very nice if the participants could bring typical recipes from home in order to introduce each other to the preparation of food from all over the world. Insurance: In cases of accident and liability all participants from foreign countries are insured by Open Houses. Nevertheless, individual travel insurance is recommended. Participants from outside European Union are insured in cases of illness, too. Participants from the European Union should bring their European Health Insurance Card. Finances All costs linked to the project are covered, including food, accommodation, insurance and transportation during the stay at the project. Travel costs to and from the camp place are not covered. Participants should organise their journey to and from the project place by themselves and on their own expenses. Furthermore, participants should bring their own pocket money. An Allowance of 200 euro will be paid per workcamp worked as a camp leader / technical leader.

Location: BurgLohra

Location and Leisure: Lohra Castle, located in northern Thuringia, Germany, is one of the region’s most characteristic medieval fortifications, situated near historic trade routes that once connected central Europe. Though modest in scale, the castle occupies a commanding position within a hilly landscape bordering a natural reserve. With a history extending over more than a millennium, the site reflects successive phases of architectural transformation shaped by changing political, economic, and social conditions. The ensemble includes architectural elements dating back to the 11th century. Among its most remarkable features is a Romanesque double-floored chapel from the 12th century, an exceptional example of early medieval sacred architecture. Remnants of defensive walls and towers, together with a later Renaissance manor house and agricultural buildings, illustrate the evolution of the site from fortified stronghold to residential and economic centre. Local tradition associates the origins of Lohra with a sacred grove dedicated to the goddess Lahre, from whom the castle is said to derive its name. Whether legend or memory of earlier ritual landscapes, this narrative reflects the enduring connection between the site and the surrounding forest. Today, the castle remains embedded within a dense, primeval woodland that frames the ruins and creates a setting of remarkable atmosphere and retreat. The extensive grounds of the castle ensemble offer more than historic architecture. Open green areas provide space for communal life, reflection, and recreation. Facilities such as a beach volleyball field and football field are available on site, while quiet corners, elevated viewpoints, and forest paths offer opportunities to experience the landscape, including sunsets overlooking the hills. The castle itself invites exploration and discovery beyond the working hours of the project. After decades of abandonment and structural decline, Lohra Castle was revitalised in the 1990s through the initiative of Open Houses. Since then, the site has served as a centre for heritage conservation, international volunteering, and cultural exchange. Workcamps combine hands-on restoration with shared daily life in a remote yet vibrant setting. Planned excursions, including visits to Erfurt and its well-preserved medieval city centre, complement the on-site experience and situate the project within the broader cultural history of Thuringia. Lohra Castle offers not only a place of work, but an environment of retreat, collaboration, and summer engagement in direct contact with historic architecture and the surrounding forest landscape, a setting that invites participants to contribute to its ongoing care and preservation.

Airport: BER

Train/Bus station: Gebra train station

Requirements: Special requirements are sending a CV and motivation letter. A driver’s license is preferred but not mandatory.

will be provided in infosheet

Language: eng

Extra Fee: 0

An Allowance of 200 euro will be paid per workcamp worked as a camp leader / technical leader.