Charlottenburg Palace

Berlin’s largest former Hohenzollern residence, Charlottenburg Palace is today a museum with a world-class reputation. It was given the name by which it is known today in 1705, following the death of Queen Sophie Charlotte, wife of King Frederick I in Prussia.

In 1695 she had commissioned the architect Johann Arnold Nehring to build a small maison de plaisance, known as the Old Palace, which was enlarged on a grand scale by Johann Friedrich Eosander after the coronation in 1701. Further sections were added after her death. Under King Frederick II (‘the Great’) the palace was extended from 1740 with the construction of the New Wing designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff. From then on until the end of the Monarchy in 1918, almost all the Prussian kings left their stamp on the complex in the shape of alterations, remodelled interiors and additional buildings.

The exhibitions under the theme "Clashing styles? Modernism in the reconstruction of Charlottenburg Palace" concentrate on the fascinating history of the palace after its destruction in the Second World War, focusing in particular on the role given to contemporary art in the reconstruction. Numerous hitherto unpublished photographs and newly discovered archival material present a picture of the palace from a largely unfamiliar perspective. At the centre of the exhibition is the ceiling painting in the White Hall executed by Hann Trier in 1972. Click here for more information.