Charlottenhof Villa Prussian Arcadia
To the southwest of Sanssouci Palace lies the small Charlottenhof Villa, built in the Neoclassical style. It forms the architectural center point of the grounds that were added to Sanssouci Park beginning in 1826.
The crown prince, later King Frederick William IV, was given the Baroque country manor by his father as a Christmas present in 1825. He commissioned the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the landscape gardener Peter Joseph Lenné to redesign the estate. The result was the highpoint of their respective creative activity and a true synthesis of architecture and landscape.
The villa is steeped in the spirit of antiquity and influenced by the architecture of Roman villas in its simple formal vocabulary. Fascinated by the excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum, Schinkel drew on wall decorations seen in the ancient houses of affluent citizens. This is also seen in the Biedermeier design of the interiors with their middle-class appearance and furnishings mostly designed by Schinkel. The rooms’ vibrant variety of materials and color is remarkable.
A lively interchange between the interior and the exterior space is conveyed through the semicircular bay on the northern side, the course of water that appears to flow from the fountains into the palace itself, the porticos, pergolas, terraces and the exedra. The famous blue-and-white striped corner room took this idea to the extreme. Replicating the interior of a tent.
Charlottenhof Villa and Park are rightly characterized as the heart of Prussian Arcadia.
Charlottenhof Palace
Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 34a
14471 Potsdam
July to October
Last admission 30 minutes before closing.
Can only be viewed with a guided tour.
For organisational reasons, there may be waiting times. We ask for your understanding.
On public holidays, weekend opening hours apply unless otherwise stated.
Valid for a single visit to all the SPSG palaces in Potsdam open to the public on one day (not valid for Sacrow House and Stern Hunting Lodge; not valid for special exhibitions; in the Belvedere Pfingstberg, ticket owners are granted the reduced rate).
Sold at all palace registers, in the visitor centres and online. A fixed admission time slot at Sanssouci Palace is included with purchase, and a guided tour time must be booked for the New Palace. Guided tours for the New Palace can only be booked on a daily basis at the visitor centres.
book your ticketValid for up to 2 adults and up to 4 children.
Valid for a single visit to all the SPSG palaces in Potsdam open to the public on one day (not valid for Sacrow House and Stern Hunting Lodge, not valid for special exhibitions), in the Belvedere Pfingstberg ticket owners are granted the reduced rate.
Sold at all palace registers, in the visitor centres and online. A fixed admission time slot at Sanssouci Palace is included with purchase, and a guided tour time must be booked for the New Palace. Guided tours for the New Palace can only be booked on a daily basis at the visitor centres.
book your ticketValid for a single visit to all the SPSG palaces in Potsdam open to the public on one day, except Sanssouci Palace (not valid for the Belvedere on Potsdam’s Pfingstberg, Sacrow House and Stern Hunting Lodge).
Valid for up to 2 adults and up to 4 children (aged 18 or younger). On sale at all palace registers and at the visitor centers.
for annual ticket holders
Schlossleiterin
Schloss Charlottenhof / Römische Bäder / Chinesisches Haus / Dampfmaschinenhaus
Postfach 60 14 62
14414 Potsdam
schloss-charlottenhof@spsg.de
Visitor Centre Historic Windmill in Sanssouci Park
An der Orangerie 1
14469 Potsdam
Closed Mondays
Visitor Centre New Palace in Sanssouci Park
Am Neuen Palais 3
14469 Potsdam
Closed Tuedays
info@spsg.de
Phone: +49 (0) 331.96 94-200
- not wheelchair accessible
Unfortunately, the exhibition rooms are not accessible for wheelchair users.
For conservation reasons, it is unfortunately not possible to use prams / baby strollers in the exhibition rooms.
Please note: No luggage or baggage may be left in the entrance area of the palace for security and safety reasons.
A limited number of lockers are available for smaller pieces of baggage (up to 35 x 35 x 50 cm).
In the surroundings you will find the following dining options:
‘coffee bike’
on the ‘forum’ near to the Chinese House
Café Caroline
at the Visitor Centre at the New Palace (South Gate Building / "Südtorgebäude")
Theaterklause
near the entrance "Grünes Gitter"
Augustiner im Bürgerbahnhof
next to the station "Park Sanssouci"
Café Repin
near Picture Gallery and Sanssouci Palace
Drachenhaus Restaurant & Cafe im Park Sanssouci
between "Paradiesgarten" and Belvedere Klausberg
Lottenhof / Bill's Kitchen
near Charlottenhof Villa
Zur Historischen Mühle
near Sanssouci Palace
The SPSG offers a free shuttle service between the Grünes Gitter (Green Grille) and the New Palace on the so-called “Ökonomieweg” in Sanssouci Park from April to October, daily from 11 am to 5.30 pm.
As the shuttle service is only made possible by the voluntary work of the drivers, we ask for your understanding if the service is not always available. Unfortunately, the shuttle service is also not available during heavy rain.
