Ordenspalais

Coordinates: 52°30′45″N 13°23′01″E / 52.51250°N 13.38361°E / 52.51250; 13.38361
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ordenspalais, then Palais Prince Ferdinand of Prussia, engraving by Johann Georg Rosenberg, about 1780

The Ordenspalais ("Palace of the

Wilhelmstraße in Berlin (now in Berlin-Mitte
).

History

Erection of the building at Wilhelmplatz No. 7/8 began in 1737 as the residence of the Prussian Major General Karl Ludwig, Count of Waldburg-Capustigall, who died the next year. By command of King Frederick William I of Prussia, the palace was finished by the Order of Saint John (the Johanniterorden) according to plans by Carl Friedrich Richter, who also designed the neighbouring Palais Schulenburg (later the German Reich Chancellery). From 1738, the palace was the principal residence of the Herrenmeister ("Master of the Knights"), chief of the Order, and housed the Berlin legation of the Order. The palace later was renamed for Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, who was Herrenmeister from 1763 to 1811.

The Ordenspalais in 1936
Ruins of the Ordenspalais in March 1945

The Kingdom of Prussia took over the building in 1811, upon the dissolution of the Order by a government desperate for funds in the midst of the

Princes Frederick Charles and Friedrich Leopold of Prussia
.

After

Foreign Office, which held daily press conferences here. In March 1933, the building became the headquarters of the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda led by Joseph Goebbels
. During his tenure, the building was again enlarged, with Stüler's annex extended and rebuilt until 1940.

The Ordenspalais itself was destroyed in the last months of

Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
.

52°30′45″N 13°23′01″E / 52.51250°N 13.38361°E / 52.51250; 13.38361