A historic oil painting has surfaced showing a hunting lodge that once stood on Gollwitzer Berg before its destruction after World War II. The artwork depicts the complete structure known as "Lebenswarte" - a clever wordplay on the von Wartensleben family name - which was built in 1847-48 by Gustav Ludwig Graf von Wartensleben (1796-1886), the estate owner of Karow.

The original hunting lodge was a relatively modest structure that included a hall with a main room and an observation tower. After World War II, the hall and main room disappeared, leaving only the observation tower, which remains largely preserved to this day. The newly discovered painting provides a rare glimpse of how the complete hunting lodge appeared before its partial destruction.

The oil painting has been hanging for several decades in the G. Pflaumbaum restaurant in Kade, where it was commissioned by innkeeper Gustav Pflaumbaum (1920-1986). He hired Genthin artist Josef Prause (1916-2007) to create the work, likely during the 1960s. Since only the tower remained standing by that time, Pflaumbaum provided the artist with his own sketches of the original hunting lodge to ensure historical accuracy.

Josef Prause, who created the painting, had an interesting background as a refugee from the Sudeten region. Originally from the Riesengebirge (Giant Mountains), Prause had studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna before arriving in Genthin as a refugee in August 1945. He subsequently worked as a freelance artist in the area and became well-known throughout the Jerichower Land region.

During the same period that Prause painted the hunting lodge, he also created a view of Kade as seen from Belicke, which also hangs in the restaurant's dining room. Both paintings bear the artist's signature and represent important historical documentation of the local area. The G. Pflaumbaum restaurant, now operated by Heiko Gustav Pflaumbaum, has remarkably remained in the same family for seven generations.

Prause's artistic career in the region spanned several decades, beginning with part-time work in the advertising department of HO in Genthin starting in 1957, and becoming full-time in 1971. After his retirement in 1981, he devoted himself entirely to painting and drawing. His contributions to local culture were recognized when he was invited to sign the Golden Book of the city of Genthin in 1991, and he was later awarded honorary citizenship in 2006.

Following Prause's death in 2007, his widow donated a significant portion of his artistic legacy to the Jerichower Land District Museum, ensuring that his work would be preserved for future generations. The discovery of this hunting lodge painting adds another valuable piece to the historical record of the region and provides insight into the architectural heritage that has been lost over time.