Schloss Charlottenburg is an exquisite palace ensemble and the best place in Berlin to learn about the Hohenzollern clan, who ruled Brandenburg and later Prussia from 1415 to 1918.
A visit is especially pleasant in summertime when you can fold a picnic in the palace park into a day of peeking at art, treasures and period rooms.
From Summer Pad to Royal Palace
What began as a petite summer retreat for Sophie-Charlotte and her husband, Elector Friedrich III, got a Versailles-style glow-up after the elector’s self-promotion to King Friedrich I in 1701. On a self-guided tour of the Altes Schloss (Old Palace), you can snoop around the splendid baroque living quarters of Prussia’s original power couple, including Friedrich’s bedroom, the Porcelain Cabinet and the Palace Chapel. Head upstairs to view the crown treasure, a pirate ship’s worth of royal tableware and an unexpectedly engaging exhibit on the Hohenzollerns’ climb from minor nobility to German emperors.
The New Wing: A Royal Upgrade
Subsequent royals added their own flair, most notably Frederick the Great, who tacked on the elegant Neuer Flügel (New Wing) to his grandparents’ pad in the 1740s. A succession of rooms showcase royal trends and tastes through the ages, but it’s the two rococo ballrooms – the confection-like White Hall and the utterly dazzling Golden Gallery – that deserve top billing.
Beyond the Palace
Tucked among the shaded paths, flowerbeds, manicured lawns, mature trees and carp pond of the palace park are the royal Mausoleum, the neoclassical Neuer Pavillon and the dainty Belvedere (closed).
