Charlottenburger Schloss Berlin, Germany
Posted by: 
Mirtilli
N 52° 31.348 E 013° 17.727
33U E 384353 N 5820516
From Wikipedia:
"Charlottenburg Palace (German: Schloss Charlottenburg) is the largest palace in Berlin and the only building in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family.It is located in the Charlotten"
Waymark Code: WM6KTC
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date Posted: 06/17/2009
Views: 81
The original palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg in what was then the village of Lietzow. Originally named Lietzenburg, the palace was designed by Johann Arnold Nering in baroque style. It consisted of one wing and was built in 2½ storeys with a central cupola. The façade was decorated with Corinthian pilasters. On the top was a cornice on which were statues. At the rear in the centre of the palace were two oval halls, the upper one being a ceremonial hall and the lower giving access to the gardens. Nering died during the construction of the palace and the work was completed by Martin Grünberg and Andreas Schlüter. The inauguration of the palace was celebrated on 11 July 1699, Frederick's 42nd birthday
Friedrich crowned himself as King Friedrich I in Prussia in 1701 (Friedrich II - Frederick the Great - would later achieve the title King of Prussia) Two years previously he had appointed Johann Friedrich von Eosander (also known as Eosander von Göthe) as the royal architect and sent him to study architectural developments in Italy and France, particularly the Palace of Versailles. On his return in 1702 Eosander began to extend the palace, starting with two side wings to enclose a large courtyard, and the main palace was extended on both sides. Sophie Charlotte died in 1705 and Friedrich named the palace and its estate Charlottenburg in her memory. In the following years the Orangery was built on the west of the palace and the central area was extended with a large domed tower and a larger vestibule. On top of the dome was a gilded statue representing Fortune designed by Andreas Heidt. In 1704 a free-standing stairway was built, a novelty in the country at that time, which was described by Friedrich as "the finest ornament in the entire house".
Inside the palace was a room described as "the eighth wonder of the world", the Amber Room (Bernsteinzimmer), a room with its walls surfaced in decorative amber. It was designed by Andreas Schlüter and its construction by the Danish amber craftsman Gottfried Wolfram started in 1701. Friedrich Wilhelm I gave the Amber Room to Tsar Peter the Great as a present in 1716.
When Friedrich I died in 1713 he was succeeded by his son, Friedrich Wilhelm I whose building plans were less ambitious, although he did ensure that the building was properly maintained. building was resumed after his son, Friedrich II (Frederick the Great), came to the throne in 1740. During that year stables for his personal guard regiment were completed to the south of the Orangery wing and work was started on the east wing. The building of the new wing was supervised by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, the Superintendent of all the Royal Palaces, who largely followed Eosander's design. The decoration of the exterior was relatively simple but the interior furnishings were lavish. The ground floor was intended for Frederick's wife Elisabeth Christine, who, preferring Schönhausen Palace, was only an occasional visitor. The decoration of the upper floor, which included the White Hall, the Banqueting Hall, the Throne Room and the Golden Gallery, was lavish and was designed mainly by Johann August Nahl. In 1747 a second apartment for the king was prepared in the distant eastern part of the wing. During this time Sanssouci was being built at Potsdam and once this was completed Frederick was only an occasional visitor to Charlottenburg.
In 1786 Frederick was succeeded by his nephew Friedrich Wilhelm II who transformed five rooms on the ground floor of the east wing into his summer quarters and part of the upper floor into Winter Chambers, although he did not live long enough to use them. His son, Friedrich Wilhelm III came to the throne in 1797 and reigned with his wife, Queen Luise for 43 years. They spent much of this time living in the east wing of Charlottenburg. Their eldest son, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, who reigned from 1840 to 1861, lived in the upper storey of the central palace building. After Friedrich Wilhelm IV died, the only other royal resident of the palace was Friedrich III who reigned for 99 days in 1888.
The palace was badly damaged in 1943 during the Second World War.In 1951 the war-damaged Stadtschloss in East Berlin was demolished and, as the damage to Charlottenburg was at least as serious, it was feared that it would also be demolished. However following the efforts of Margarete Kühn, the Director of the State Palaces and Gardens, it was rebuilt to its former condition.[9] From 2004 until early 2006, Charlottenburg Palace was the seat of the President of Germany, whilst Schloss Bellevue was being renovated.[citation needed]
The garden was designed in 1697 in baroque style by Simeon Godeau who had been influenced by André Le Nôtre, designer of the gardens at Versailles. Godeau's design consisted of geometric patterns, with avenues and moats, which separated the garden from its natural surroundings. Beyond the formal gardens were the Carp Lake. Towards the end of the 18th century a less formal, more natural-looking garden design became fashionable. In 1787 the Royal Gardener Georg Steiner redesigned the garden in the English landscape style for Friedrich Wilhelm II, the work being directed by Peter Joseph Lenné. After the Second World War the garden was restored to its previous baroque style.
In 1788 Friedrich Wilhelm II arranged for the building of the Belvedere, designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, in the grounds beyond the Carp Lake. The building was used as a teahouse and as a viewing-tower. Langhans also designed the Palace Theatre which was built between 1788 and 1791 to the west of the Orangery wing.The Mausoleum was built as a tomb for Queen Luise between 1810 and 1812 in neoclassical style to a design by Heinrich Gentz. After the death of Friedrich Wilhelm III it was extended, this design being by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. It was extended again in 1890–91 by Albert Geyer to accommodate the graves of Wilhelm I and his wife Augusta.In 1825 Friedrich Wilhelm III added the Neuer Pavilion, an Italianate villa designed by Schinkel, to the north of the palace. This was damaged in the war in 1943 and was reconstructed between 1957 and 1970.
The palace and grounds are a major visitor attraction. For an admission charge parts of the interior of the palace are open to visitors, including the Old Palace (Alte Schloss) and the New Wing (Neuer Flügel). The Old Palace contains many rooms with baroque decoration, and includes a room called the Porcelain Cabinet which holds thousands of porcelain objects. The New Wing includes the opulent rococo State Apartments of Frederick the Great and the more modest Winter Chambers of Friedrich Wilhelm II. The formal and informal gardens are freely open to the public. For an admission charge the Mausoleum, the Belvedere and the Neue Pavilion are open to visitors. The Mausoleum contains the graves of, and memorials to, members of the Hohenzollern family. The memorial to Queen Luise includes her reclining effigy which is made from Carrara marble and was designed by Christian Daniel Rauch. Also open to the public are the Belvedere which contains a collection of Berlin porcelain, and the Neue Pavilion which houses a collection of arts and crafts of the period when Schinkel was active. The former Palace Theatre is now the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte which is a museum of prehistoric archaeology. In the former Orangery is a restaurant and café.
In the courtyard of the palace is a large equestrian statue of Friedrich Wilhelm I. This was designed by Andreas Schlüter and made between 1696 and 1700. From 1703 it stood on the Langen Brücke (now the Rathausbrücke) but was moved to a place of safety in the Second World War. On its return after the war the barge carrying it sunk and it was not salvaged until 1949. In 1952 it was erected in its present site. To the south of the palace are two more museums, the Bröhan-Museum, which contains art nouveau and art deco articles, and the Sammlung Berggruen, which houses modern art, in particular works by Picasso and Klee.
The soure; Wikipedia
Accessibility: Partial access
Condition: Intact
Admission Charge?: yes
Website: [Web Link]
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