Schönhausen Palace
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Schönhausen Palace | |
---|---|
Schloss Schönhausen | |
General information | |
Type | Palace |
Architectural style | Baroque |
Town or city | Berlin |
Country | Germany |
Coordinates | 52°34′41″N 13°24′18″E / 52.578°N 13.405°E |
Client | Frederick I of Prussia |
Owner | Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Johann Arnold Nering |
Website | |
Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten |
Schönhausen Palace (German: Schloss Schönhausen) is a Baroque palace at Niederschönhausen, in the borough of Pankow, Berlin, Germany. It is surrounded by gardens through which the Panke river runs. The palace is maintained by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg and reopened to the public in 2009 after extensive restoration.
History
Brandenburg-Prussia
In 1662 Countess Sophie Theodore, a scion of the Holland-Brederode family and wife of the Brandenburg general Christian Albert of Dohna, acquired the lands Niederschönhausen and Pankow, then far north of the Berlin city gates. In 1664 she built a manor at Niederschönhausen in "Dutch" style. Minister Joachim Ernst von Grumbkow acquired it in 1680 and, in 1691, his widow sold it for 16,000 Thalers to the Hohenzollern elector Frederick III of Brandenburg, who had fallen in love with the property earlier.
Frederick put the manor under the care of the
Under King
During the
After the death of Queen Elisabeth Christine in 1797 the palace was seldom used. At times Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, widow of Prince Louis Charles of Prussia, lived at Schönhausen and had the gardens again remodeled, this time by Peter Joseph Lenné into an English landscape garden. Apart from that it served mainly as a storage facility for furniture and paintings.
It was rumored that King Frederick II had his favorite horse Condé buried in the gardens, but whether the hill in question actually is a horse's grave has not been proven. In fact Condé outlived its owner and died in 1804, aged 38. Its skeleton is kept at the veterinary department of the Free University of Berlin.
20th century
The Prussian ruling Hohenzollern dynasty owned Schönhausen Palace until it was dispossessed and became a property of the
When the
After German reunification
While German reunification was in progress in 1989 and 1990, the so-called Round Table met in the palace's outbuildings.[2] Major portions of the negotiations leading to the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany also took place here, and a plaque now memorializes this period.
After German reunification, the palace became the property of the Bundesvermögensamt, the division of the German treasury in charge of managing government-owned real estate. In 1991 the state of Berlin became the new owner of the palace and its gardens, and in 1997 the state put the property up for sale.
In 1994, 100 years after the revival of the Olympic Games, the representatives from Argentina, Austria, China, Cyprus, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland, United States, who arrived to the founding congress of the International Delphic Council to establish the Delphic Games of the modern era, met at the palace.[3][4][5][6][7]
In 2003 there was some discussion about using the palace as the temporary residence of the
On 24 June 2005, ownership of the palace was transferred to the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg. At the same time, €8.6 million in federal funds was earmarked for renovation work. The palace was reopened to the public on 19 December 2009. In addition to the historic rooms dating to the time of the Prussian queen, the rooms used by the GDR President were reopened. Refurnishing the office used by
Restoration of the gardens to their layout when the President of the GDR worked here is also planned. Thought is also being given to the future of the garage, which enjoys protection as a historic landmark.
Since 2003 the
See also
References
- ^ (in German) Franziska Windt Die Königin und ihr Schloss - Elisabeth Christine in Schloss Schönhausen in: zeitenblicke 7 (2008)
- ^ * Schönhausen Palace: At the Round Table to Democracy. In: Sites of Unity (Haus der Geschichte), 2022.
- ^ Delphische Spiele als Reflexion ihrer Zeit. «Athener Zeitung», Nr. 55, 16. Dezember 1994
- ^ The second coming of Delphic Games. «Daily Times», Nr. 20, January 27, 1995
- ^ Hans-Georg Torkel. Idee und Geschichte der Delphischen Bewegung[permanent dead link] «Innovations Forum», page 23, 2-2003
- ^ Founding Members Archived 2011-07-09 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Chronology of the Delphic Games of the Modern Era Archived 2011-07-09 at the Wayback Machine