Charlottenburg Palace

The Charlottenburg palace is the largest palace in Berlin. It was built in several stages. The original, central part was constructed between 1695 and 1699. It was intended as the summer home for Sophie Charlotte, Elector Frederick III's wife.

The palace was expanded after Frederick became the first Prussian King, Friedrich I.
The Swedish master Johann Eosander von Göthe supervised the expansion, which in-cluded the addition of the copula and the construction of the orangery wing.
The east wing was added between 1740 and 1746 by Frederick the Great (King Friedrich II).

Severely damaged by allied bombing in 1943, the palace was meticulously reconstructed after the war. The splendid interiors like the Eichengallerie, a 1713 gallery lined with oil paintings and the Porzellan-kabinett, with a fine display of Chinese and Japanese porcelain are remarkably well restored. Also noteworthy are the Schlosskapelle - the palace's small chapel, the Weisser Saal, the rococo style Goldene Galerie and the Galerie der Romantik, with a collection of works of German Romantics.

The park behind Schloss Charlottenburg was originally laid out in French Baroque style. In the 18th and 19th century, the park was converted into a landscape garden. With the reconstruction of the park after the war, a small part was laid out in French style again.

The beautiful park is a perfect place for Sunday strolls. It features a mausoleum, a pavilion and the Belvedere, now home to a porcelain museum. The mausoleum, a Doric temple built in 1810, contains the sarcophagus of Friedrich Wilhelm II among others.