Obituary for Dr. Reinhard Anders

Dr Reinhard Anders died on 12 January at the age of 84 after a long illness. The Meinsdorf resident, who had a wide range of interests, had long been associated with Schloss Wiepersdorf. He last visited the castle park with his wife for the annual Christmas concert on 22 December 2024. He championed Wiepersdorf as a cultural venue, gave guided tours of the castle museum and was a member of the Freundeskreis Schloss Wiepersdorf.

He was an expert on the lives and works of Bettina and Achim von Arnim. He had already begun to study the von Arnim family at a young age. He gave lectures, including at Schloss Wiepersdorf, and cultivated contacts with important Arnim researchers.

He often came to Wiepersdorf during the GDR era already. During the reunification period, he was politically active and became a member of the first and last freely elected GDR parliament as a CDU deputy. At that time, he was especially committed to preserving Wiepersdorf as a place of culture. Furthermore, he was a passionate local historian and knew the customs and regional specialities better than almost anyone else.

Reinhard Anders inspired many with his broad knowledge. His death is a great loss - for Wiepersdorf, for the castle, for those researching Bettina and Achim von Arnim and for all those interested in the history and customs of the region. We will miss Reinhard Anders.