Hachschara (Lehrgut) Markenhof

The Markenhof farm was a Zionist vocational training center which trained well over 200 participants. Previously, the farmland had been an ordinary farm (first mentioned in 1505). It consisted of a stone farmhouse and a wooden barn, and in later years a mill. The farm owners had changed frequently up until Max von Wogau, a rich nobleman from Russia, purchased not only the Markenhof but also the slightly lower situated Müller farm (Müllerbauernhof). He combined the two farms into one complex and had the large barn on the Markenhof torn down. He also gave the farm a whole new look by completely renovating the farmhouse and creating a park with a rose garden and gravel paths.
In 1919, the wealthy Russian Zionist and industrialist from Freiburg im Breisgau Konrad Goldmann purchased the farm and had it converted so that around 30 to 50 trainees would be able to receive and complete agricultural training at the Markenhof at the same time. He added not only a multistory residential building on the north side of the property, but also a single-story hall for prayer. This small synagogue had wood-paneled walls, several wooden cabinets (one of which had sliding doors for the Torah scroll) and a wooden coffered ceiling with lamps. The room where the synagogue was located has been preserved until today, just like the rest of the Markenhof. The residential buildings today serve as rental apartments; the synagogue and communal meeting hall are currently being fully renovated and converted into event venues.
The visitor’s registry in the former municipality of Burg shows that, in addition to the trainees, there were also other people working on the Markenhof in different occupations. The only non-Jewish person on the farm was the agricultural manager, a Christian man named Duttlinger who lived with his family and a maid on the Müller farm. Goldmann had taken him on from the previous owner.

In contrast to other Jewish training farms, the training at the Markenhof was more explicitly oriented toward the requirements of farming in Palestine than in other places. This also applied to the selection of certain varieties of fruit.
“The Markenhof is by far the most promising Zionist training farm we have seen. It has an enormous advantage over the others in that the entire agricultural operation is solid and reliable and ideally suited to our training,” wrote Werner Rosolio after visiting the Markenhof in 1920.
A first group of pioneers consisting of four women and three men emigrated to Palestine in December 1921 and settled in Ein Ganim moshav in the Sharon plain. In Palestine, they worked on leased land in Palestine where they refined their agricultural expertise and knowledge of Hebrew. In 1923, the group went to Rub al-Nasra, and in September 1927, finally settled not far from the Sea of Galilee, where they were able to begin building their first house.
The new settlement became known as Beth Sera/Beit Zera. Despite various challenges and financial difficulties, the members believed in the strength of their group and in the goal of building a new community in Galilee.