Charlottenburg Palace

Charlottenburg Palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, wife of Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg, and designed by the architect Johann Arnold Nering, with construction running from 1695 to 1713 under the later direction of Martin Grunberg and Andreas Schluter. Built originally in the Baroque style, the palace grew substantially across the eighteenth century, particularly under Frederick the Great, whose additions introduced Rococo interiors including an ornate Porcelain Cabinet and a version of the celebrated Amber Room. The complex now ranks among the largest palaces in the world, its grounds extending into formal gardens accompanied by a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a garden pavilion, several of which remain open to visitors separately from the main palace. Allied bombing badly damaged Charlottenburg during the Second World War, and its post-war restoration, carried out over subsequent decades, returned the palace and its principal rooms to something close to their pre-war appearance. The former Orangery building today operates as a restaurant and cafe, while the palace's historic interiors remain open to the public as a major Berlin museum.