Babelsberg Palace

Babelsberg Palace
Schloss Babelsberg
Babelsberg Palace
Location in Berlin
General information
Type	Palace
Architectural style	Gothic revival
Town or city	Potsdam
Country	Germany
Coordinates
Construction started	1835
Completed	1849
Client	Prince (later Emperor) William I
Owner	Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg
Design and construction
Architect	Karl Friedrich Schinkel Ludwig Persius Johann Heinrich Strack
Website
Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten

Babelsberg Palace (German: Schloss Babelsberg) lies in the eponymous park and quarter of Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg, near Berlin. For over 50 years it was the summer residence of Prince William, later Emperor William I and his wife, Augusta of the House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

History

The building, designed in the English Gothic revival style, was built in two phases over the period 1835–1849. The contract to plan the palace was given to the architects Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Ludwig Persius and Johann Heinrich Strack.

On 22 September 1862 in the palace and adjoining park the discussion between King William I of Prussia and Otto von Bismarck took place that ended with the nomination of Bismarck as Minister President and Foreign Minister of Prussia.

The architecture of Babelsberg Palace formed the template for the construction of Kittendorf Palace between 1848 and 1853 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, by Schinkel's pupil, Friedrich Hitzig.

World Heritage Site

Since 1990, Babelsberg Palace has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin". The palace is administered by the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg.

Since 2013, the palace has been undergoing an intense renovation of its facades and interiors.

The palace around 1900

See also

• List of castles in Berlin and Brandenburg
• Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin

References

• Amtlicher Führer der Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg: Park und Schloss Babelsberg. 3rd edition, 1999
• Gert Streidt, Klaus Frahm: Potsdam. Die Schlösser und Gärten der Hohenzollern. Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. Cologne, 1996. ISBN 3-89508-238-4
• Georg Poensgen: Schloss Babelsberg. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin 1929.

External links

• Babelsberg Palace on the website Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten