Between 1797 and 1804, the village of Paretz, 19 km north of Potsdam, was redesigned in Gothic style by David Gilly for Frederick William III, then still heir to the throne, and his wife Luise.
While the village gained a reputation as a model of rural architecture in Prussia, the palace rooms were celebrated for their painted and printed wallpapers and outstanding examples of furniture-making in Berlin around 1800. Until 1945, the furnishings and fittings remained much as they had been since 1800, especially in the royal apartment.
Until the Second World War broke out, the palace was accessible to the public as a museum. It was only when the wallpapers were removed in 1947 and the farming college was reorganised in 1948–1950 that sensitive alterations took place, depriving the palace of its identity.
From 1999 to 2002 the site underwent rehabilitation and restoration based on its original appearance. In 2002 the palace was placed under the administrative care of the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten (Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation) Berlin-Brandenburg and it is now open to visitors again as a palace museum with an exhibition on the restoration project. Since 2006 the coach house has been used to house an exhibition devoted to “Carriages, Sledges and Sedan Chairs from the Royal House of Prussia”. The hall, thoroughly redeveloped and modernised in 2008, can be hired for festive occasions and lectures.
