Berlin
Charlottenburg Palace vividly demonstrates prussian Hohenzollern court culture from the 17th until the early 20th century, despite suffering severe damage during the Second World War. The original nucleus for the future palace and gardens was Schloss Lietzenburg, a small summer residence built between 1695 and 1699 for Sophie Charlotte, Electress of Brandenburg, and designed by Arnold Nering. The gardens were the first in Germany to be laid out in accordance with the baroque French style of Le Nôtre. There were major extensions and conversions here after Frederick I was crowned King of Prussia in 1701.
Baroque interiors such as the Porcelain Room, the chapel or the king's bedchamber have now been largely restored to their original form. The complex was substantially enlarged after Frederick the Great ascended the throne. In 1740 work began, to plans by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, on the New Wing with its splendid banqueting chambers, the Golden Gallery and the White Room, and also the royal apartments. The paintings by Antoine Watteau are among the outstanding art works in the palace.
Frederick William II also commissioned improvements to Charlottenburg after taking office in 1786. He appointed Karl Gotthard Langhans to extend the building by adding a new theatre between 1788 and 1791. Frederick William III and his wife Queen Luise likewise favoured Charlottenburg as a summer residence. Luise occupied the former winter chambers of her father-in-law, Frederick William II, in the western section of the New Wing. In 1810 Karl Friedrich Schinkel was appointed to design a new bedroom for the queen.
Frederick William IV was the last Hohenzollern monarch to have his own quarters installed on the upper storey of the Old Palace at Charlottenburg. These apartments were lost when the building was destroyed, although his library has survived with its original interior. The crown jewels and silver tableware are on display on the upper floor of the Old Palace.
