History

History of Schoenfeld
Frontview from the mainbuilding

The farmer and pioneer Siegfried v. Seydlitz emigrated in 1908 from Germany to German South-West Africa, today’s Namibia, and acquired Schönfeld in 1913.

Today, nearly a century later, Schönfeld is one of the few family estates still run by the family which emigrated there.

In 1940, the family had to leave the residence at Schönfeld farm due to the shortage of water. The family had to move to the neighboring farm Okakango, (today’s Immenhof). From 1950 onwards Hartwig and Elke von Seydlitz (third generation) rebuilt the ruins of the original Schönfeld estate and created the beautiful Seydlitz castle as it stands today.

During 1986, Hartwig and Elke von Seydlitz bought the neighboring hunting-area Okongue. In this area, rare and nearly extinct game animals such as Black Rhino, Roan, Sable, Cheetah, Leopard, and the small Damara Dik-Dik are present in abundance, and live together with many plains game species such as Kudu, Oryx, Springbuck and Waterbuck, Giraffe, Zebra, and many more.

Due to sustainable hunting and excellent game-management, Schönfeld is one of the leading hunting-farms in Namibia today.