Charlottenburg Palace and Gardens & Schloss Schönhausen

Charlottenburg Palace is the largest palace in Berlin, and it sits in the Palace Garden. Naturally, there was some construction going on while I was there. The Palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte of Hanover. She was the sister of George I of Great Britain and the wife of the first King of Prussia, Frederick I.

It was also lived in by Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern, but she was only an occasional visitor.

The Palace itself is open to the public. Pictures inside are allowed, but only with a permit and even then the pictures are not allowed to published. The official site does have some pictures of the inside.

An important part of the gardens is the Mausoleum. It houses the remains of:

• Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
• Frederick William III of Prussia
• Wilhelm I, German Emperor
• Prince Albert of Prussia
• Augusta of Saxe-Weimar

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

Frederick William III

Augusta of Saxe-Weimar

Wilhelm I

Close-up of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz’s tomb

The Mausoleum is gorgeous and very impressive. The detailing on the tombs is amazing.

Charlottenburg from the other side of the lake

Belvedere

The second stop of the day was Schloss Schönhausen, listed under ‘Charlottenburg Palace Garden’ but in reality, it’s on the other side of the city, and it’s not covered by the Charlottenburg + ticket. The employees weren’t very happy to see us, and it was a shame we could only go in with a tour guide. I could’ve done without the guide. Even though they had English audio guides, they choose not to offer us any. The Palace looks closed from the outside, but don’t be fooled. 

Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel-Bevern used it as her summer residence for fifty years. It was occasionally used by Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. For a while, it was the seat of the president of the GDR, and it is now open to the public.