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Michaelshof turns 40…
…let’s look back!
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Last weekend we celebrated the 40th anniversary of Michaelshof! Back in 1985, a small group of friends arrived in the village of Sammatz in Lower Saxony with their cars packed and their hearts full of ideas to found a community where work and life would merge in harmony. Their vision: a cultural centre in the countryside, where people and nature coexist, where friendship, a connection to the spiritual world and curiosity about life – with all that it entails – are at the centre. A place that embraces both individuality and community, honouring each person’s talents and interests. Step by step, this small initiative with big ideas became the Michaelshof we know today.
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We celebrated on Saturday and Sunday with garden and work area tours, afternoon birthday parties, colourful balloons, and a photo exhibition chronicling the community’s journey.
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From the first renovations and seminars, childhood photos of today’s gardeners in retro kitchens, the transformation of the old brick house into a shop and then a cafe, to garden designs, early machinery, the Ark Farm, the growth of our production areas, and our evolution from vegetable experiments to today’s fields of vegetables and medicinal herbs.
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And most of all, you could see happy people with a shared vision – then and now!
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Our social media team gifted us with a 20-minute video filled with heartfelt greetings from the community – from people who’ve lived and worked here for 40 years to volunteers spending their first week in the Blue House.
The first question was: ‹What does Michaelshof mean to you?› – Home! Peace! Family! Friendship! Constant discovery! A new path & a new start! Try, fail, try again! Openness & international understanding! So many exciting people – (almost) always in good mood and full of energy! Colourful, diverse, creative! A community I’ve been looking for all my life – and where I’ve lived for over 35 years now.
This is what the children at Selma Lagerlöf School (Wietzetze) had to say when asked what they love about Michaelshof: The animals (horses!), the nature, the flowers and gardens, the football pitch, the basketball court, the café, Peronnik, the school – and that it never gets boring!
And then: ‹What are your wishes for Michaelshof’s 40th birthday?› – Love! Continued growth – inside and out! Lots of money! That everything continues with the same energy and strength! More students and volunteers from all over the world and a strong international network! More English science books in the library! Motivated people eager to get involved in community life! Exciting future projects that we’ll bring to life together!
Happy birthday, Michaelshof!
We’re already looking forward to the next 40 years!
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Spring Garden Walk…
……what awaits you in the gardens!
Two of the most common questions on our hotline at the moment are: „Is the café open today?“ and „What are the gardens like right now?“ The café is open every day, of course, and as for the gardens – we have a real-time answer: Right now they are mostly yellow! Daffodils are in full bloom.
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As you wander through the different areas of the gardens, you’ll quickly realise: not all daffodils are the same! Some are the classic sunny type, some are dainty with long beaks, some have orange centres or are ruffled and pale yellow. Have you seen the white one with the apricot bloom? It’s worth a close look and a count!
Yellow also comes from the blooming forsythia, which signals the start of our rose pruning season.
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You’re likely to see our rose gardeners, Claudia and Susanne, hard at work with pruning shears and wheelbarrows in hand.
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Near the Forest Lake you’ll find sparkling spring sunshine, fountains in motion and purple heather blooming with yellow highlights of daffodils. Not just Oscar the dog’s favourite!
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Higher up, trees and shrubs are bursting with vibrant green and the first fruit trees – mirabelle, blackthorn and plum – and magnolias are dressed in their white-pink blossoms.
Tulip fans, rejoice: you can already see the first red tulip tips and even the white-red ‚The First‘ – which, ironically, came in second this year. See you soon!
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Beloved Cheese
With Lea in the Cheese Cellar
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Lea knows her cheese inside out. No wonder – she says it’s in her Swiss blood. She could talk for hours about her craft, as she did on 15 March with thirteen curious participants who went home with new knowledge, full bellies and a personal selection of their favourite cheeses.
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But back to the beginning. Cheese needs time. Lea’s dairy day starts two hours before the seminar starts – heating the milk, adding cultures and enzymes. When the participants enter the cosy cheese room, a firm curd is ready to be turned into carrot cheese. This part is a workout! Instead of an electric mixer, it’s all arm strength. Under the watchful eyes of young people, the curd is stirred until the whey separates. The cheese is pressed into moulds – ready for the salt bath.
But that’s not all. Although the cheese matures peacefully in our clay-lined cellar, it still needs care. Every two days for the first two weeks, the wheels must be washed and brushed. Even after that, weekly attention is a must. Depending on the variety, it can take up to a year before it’s ready to grace our farm shop. The participants were amazed at how many steps go into a single piece of cheese. A cheese snack now feels like a small miracle, shaped by human hands and the gifts of nature.
Would you like to join Lea for the next cheese workshop on Saturday 30 August? Sign up here!
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Ready for a Café Visit?
Michaelshof à la carte
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Michaelshof à la carte The Café has a fresh new look – and the menu is more varied than ever. Our cakes are to die for: poppy seed marzipan cake, raspberry cream cheese cake, ultra-chocolate cake and many more sweet creations await.
Start with dessert or go savoury first – either way you’ll enjoy plenty of fresh, homemade delights. Try a hearty farm cheese sandwich followed by a handmade organic ice cream. Vegan? We’ve got you covered with plant-based cakes, coffee specialites and ice creams.
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Got an appetite?
We are open Mon–Sat 8:00–18:00, Sun & holidays 9:30–18:00!
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Easter at Michaelshof
A Joyful Celebration for Everyone
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On Easter night, a spark of hope keeps flashing up again and again. With the feeling that darkness never lasts forever and the next ray of light is waiting, we meet already before sunrise at the village lime tree to quietly set off on a walk towards the Elbe. Silent and full of joyful anticipation, we greet Easter morning in this way and warmly invite you to enjoy with us the moment when the sun rises above the water and announces the beginning of a new day. After singing Easter songs together at sunrise, we begin our way back to Michaelshof, where from 8 a.m. we invite you to our Easter buffet in our café, to treat yourself on this special morning. Until 12 noon, you can celebrate the culinary awakening of spring.
But what does Easter mean to you personally? Let’s talk about the highest of all Christian festivals. At 10 a.m. in a relaxed atmosphere, of course, because during that time your children can paint eggs and listen to stories. A perfect way to bridge the waiting time until the Easter egg hunt. From 3:30 p.m., the race for the colourful eggs begins, which are hidden between leaves, trees, bushes, and roots.
Would you like to end Easter Sunday with us in a conversation around our fire bowls? With stick bread, a potpourri of dishes from all over the world, and live music, curiosity about one another awakens – from 7 p.m. at the barbecue area between Arche-Hof and the House of Nature.
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I’m meeting Julia tonight in the cow barn together with four interns, two of whom just came along with their friends “because it’s so nice at the barn in the evening.” While the mother cows have just come back freshly from milking and are enjoying hay and power food, the two calves are patiently waiting for their mommies and watching the interns as they, together with Julia, cut open today’s straw bale and then spread it around the barn. Quite an idyllic sight…
Julia, so nice that you’re here! What brought you into our barn team?
Well, everything started two and a half years ago when I did my social internship at Peronnik and basically fell in love right away with the place and the people. I knew that somehow there was something for me to discover in Sammatz. In the next holidays, in spring 2023, I came back and met Noah, my current partner, who was also here at that time doing his internship. The more time I spent at Michaelshof, the more I felt at home, which is why I got the idea to do a voluntary social year (FSJ) at Peronnik after finishing school. After an eventful year in P1 and P6, two Peronnik houses with great kids full of energy, I ended up in the farm, where Noah, his brother Elias, and more of my friends also work.
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And what are your tasks at the farm?
Actually, I’m on the farm for every stables shift, and in between I help here and there with everything the animals in the barn or out on the pasture need. I especially take care of the donkeys and, recently, also of the poultry.
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By now, besides Jakob and Marc, I often lead the barn shifts myself, which I really enjoy because I can introduce many young people to working with animals and see happy faces every day — just like mine when I’m in the barn. Some of the volunteers and students have never been on a farm before and have their very first close contact with animals here.
That really sounds lovely! What excites you most about farm life?
I think I’m simply fascinated by how the animals are. Their calm, steady way of being, how they give people trust and love. And I love seeing that they are doing well with us, that they really feel at home with us. Then I know why I work hard — even if it’s often exhausting.
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Do you have a favourite animal?
Wow, that’s difficult! I really love them all, but if I had to choose, I’d say: the donkeys — they just make me happy!
Thank you so much! I wish you lots of success and a good lambing season!
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Simply adorable…
…our lambs!
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Baaah! No lambs in the sheepfold yet? Not yet, but from mid-April we are expecting the first woolly newcomers at Michaelshof. The signs are clear: the ewes are growing round, distancing themselves from the flock and their udders are full of milk. We never know the exact moment, but once a mother lies down and shows signs of effort, tiny legs often appear under a small head.
Usually within 15 to 45 minutes the lambs are safely on the straw and being lovingly cleaned by their moms. This moment is the beginning of a deep bond, after which just a sniff is enough for mother and lamb to find each other. And when it comes to drinking, the lamb usually doesn’t hesitate: it heads straight for the milk bar for the best welcome drink in the world. We give them two or three weeks of quiet bonding.Then you’re welcome to visit!
The mothers are happy to show off their adorable offspring and we invite you to to the Lamb Petting Hours. You can gently enter the barn and cuddle the fluffy little ones – white curly fur, wagging tails and translucent pink ears: the cutest thing April has to offer.
Follow us on Instagram to see when the big moment arrives—and then hurry on over!
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Michaelshof up to date – all opening times at a glance
Ark-Farm:
Mon-Sun 09.00 – 19.00
Café:
Mon-Sat 08.00 – 18.00
Sun & holidays 09.30 – 18.00
Farm Shop:
Every day 10.00 – 19.00
Der WAGEN in Lüneburg:
Wed & Sat 07.00 – 13.00
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Sat, April 12 – 11:00 AM–5:00 PM
Inside Look No. 1: The Medicinal Plant Workshop at Eichenhof
They are beautiful to look at and have a lot to offer: Many plants in our gardens are not only a delight for the eyes but also a blessing for body and soul. Claudia, founder of our medicinal plant manufactory at Eichenhof, is happy to introduce you to our all-rounders from the plant world during a walk. She will show you how they unfold their effects as tea or in cosmetics — and especially the manufacturing process in our laboratory.
How well a medicinal plant grows is not entirely in human hands. Sun, moon, and stars influence its entire life cycle and growth. Learn from Claudia and Ceri when the right time is to sow, fertilize, and harvest — and experience for yourself how our image-forming methods make vital forces visible.
Participation: €40, Lunch: €10, Registration requested!
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Sun, April 13 – Sun, May 18
Tulip Weeks at Michaelshof
Flamed, fringed, double, striped: the first messengers of spring have a sense for extravagance and enchant with expressive colours. For weeks, our gardens — and especially the Arena and the shores of the forest lake — resemble colourful tulip carpets, woven from petals in every shade. A little miracle and definitely a reason to give fresh joy of life its expression: with small concerts, interesting guided tours through our gardens, tulip bouquets, and spring-fresh delicacies — always on the weekends. A festival for the whole family!
During the week, the gardens speak for themselves and invite you to fully immerse yourself in the magic of spring. Let yourself be carried away by the good mood of spring nature during the Tulip Weeks at Michaelshof!
Always on the weekends:
Free admission! Donations welcome!
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Sun, 20 April
Easter at Michaelshof
At Easter, it begins — the time of awakening. And that calls for celebration! Together with you, at a huge Easter buffet in organic quality, to which we warmly invite young and old on Easter Sunday and Monday. The culinary experience with everything your heart desires starts at 8 a.m., officially lasts until 12 noon, and can then seamlessly flow into Easter coffee time.
On Easter Sunday, early in the morning, we’ll have our walk to the Easter spring. At 10 a.m., our Easter celebration begins, where we would like to talk together about the topic of Easter. At the same time, there will be a special Easter programme for kids. In the evening, we finally welcome you to the Easter Potluck of our community. Eating stick bread, talking and laughing until late — spring may finally arrive, and so may you!
Programme
5:10 a.m. – Walk to the spring
Free admission, donations welcome!
8 a.m. – 12 noon – Easter buffet in the café
Adults: €34.90 | Children: €14.90
Reservations for the Easter buffet on Sunday & Monday by phone: 05858 970 3010 a.m.
10 a.m. – Easter celebration for adults + children’s programme
Free admission, donations welcome!
3:30 p.m. – Easter egg hunt for the little ones
Free admission, donations welcome!
From 7 p.m. – Culinary get-together with the community
Adults: €19 | Children: €11
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Wed, 30 April – 7 to 9 p.m.
Dance into May
The warm sun on your skin. An international buzz of voices in our gardens. Young people getting the garden beds ready for spring. Michaelshof is awakening. And you? Still sleeping? Or do your legs and feet already start tingling? Isn’t there this irresistible urge to just start dancing? To grab life by the hands and spin it around? One thing is for sure: you’re definitely not alone with that feeling. The spring fever has caught us all — across all the nations represented here with us. Stiff winter limbs are waking up, hearts are opening, and happiness hormones are doing somersaults. There is only one answer to this state of mind: the Dance into May.
On the evening of 30 April, we’ll get started — with a band, a maypole, and dance enthusiasts from all over the world. You don’t need to know how to dance. All that counts is the joy of our international live music — the rest will come naturally. We’ll be happy to show you some traditional dance steps, but freestyle moves are just as welcome. You’ll see: when the weather is fine, the people are wonderful, and the music sweeps you along, there’s really nothing else you can do but start dancing. If you like, until the morning. Just drop by from 7 p.m. onwards and celebrate spring with us.
Free admission, donations welcome!
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Our Landbauteam
– spring at full speed!
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Attentive newsletter readers surely already know our Landbauteam. They usually show up exactly where help is most urgently needed and move pretty much everything that needs to be transported from one place to another — from soil, stones, pipes, and sand to tiny house walls.
The crew for the heavy work — Daniel, Kowa, Emmanuel, Malte Behr, and Lilly — are often to be found on the wheel loader, the mini excavator, the excavator, or the telehandler, hurriedly on their way to their current place of action.
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The Landbauteam beyond the really big machines — with Sara, Gabi, Victoria, Gabriel, Emmanuel, and Lorenzo — spent a lot of time at Flachsenberg over the winter, preparing the outdoor areas there for their first spring and summer. Apart from that, they’re always involved in any clearing-out, rearranging, or redesigning work — whether it’s waking the pavilion from its winter sleep or completely turning the café upside down: this now well-established crew is worth its weight in gold!
Always equipped with a good dose of coffee, motivating snacks, and a joke at the ready — and always where you least expect them: that’s the Landbauteam! At the moment, they’re all working together on our playground. No, not for a round of volleyball or to build sandcastles — but to prepare our play equipment for your next visit.
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‹What began as a pilgrimage to the best cakes in the area has meanwhile turned into a cheerful way to work. Although I don’t like the word work, because it sounds like duty and burden. And I didn’t have to. I wanted to. To be here and to put this wonderful place into words.
Who am I? Marina from Neu Jürgenstorf, born in Darmstadt, having lived in Hamburg for a long time, and now turned into a country bumpkin. What I brought with me to the countryside is everything I can do: my understanding of architecture (acquired during long years of studying), my love for writing (still unbroken despite the hard school of the Texterschmiede advertising academy), and also my passion for the German language, whose subtleties I’ve been teaching for a long time to people from abroad — with great dedication and varying degrees of success.
Through teaching, writing faded a little into the background — or better said: it lost relevance and meaning, because honestly, who feels like writing copy for products that do the world more harm than good? If I were ever to write again with full strength, then only for a good cause. That’s what I promised myself — and here it is, the good cause: Michaelshof, a place where thoughts and words just start to flow. I write for you in the library and sometimes at home, always with all my heart and with open ears for topics and people.›
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Dear Marina, we’re so happy you’re here and that you sweeten our lives with your creative word combinations!
We’re already looking forward to many exciting projects together!
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We are looking for committed and dynamic people to join our team — people who enjoy taking on responsibility and love life in the countryside. Is having a meaningful job more important to you than a “9 to 5 job”? Then you’ve come to the right place!
We are looking for professionals — or talented people — in the following areas:
Office:
- Accountant
- Picture Editor
Hands-On:
- Baker
- Pastry Chef
- Teacher
- Sociall Worker
- Ornamental Plant Gardener
- Gardener for Trees, Shrubs & Lawn Care
- Construction Worker
- Landbau
- Pharmacist
- Printing & Laminating
Your qualification isn’t listed, but you’re still interested?
Just give it a try!
Please send your application including a photo to: claudia.brady@sammatz.de – we’ll get back to you!
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+++ NEWSTICKER +++
Impressions from everyday community life…
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…a thumbs up from the next generation…
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…beautiful moments by the Waldsee and in the greenhouse tunnel…
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…greetings from Selma Lagerlöf School!
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Fancy a little trip after school? Mr. Schmidt makes it possible!
Warm regards and see you next time – Anna & Marina ❤️
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