BERLIN: Prussian Pleasure Palace

The Hohenzollerns are a dynasty of former princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire and Romania, says Wikipedia. Charlottenburg Palace and its extensive garden were built for Queen Sophie Charlotte of the Hohenzollerns. Its oldest section dates to 1695. Frederick the Great updated it in the 1740s. It is the most important Hohenzollern residence left in Berlin.

The courtyard entrance.

There’s enough gilding in this gate to impress any visiting head of state.

A close-up of the gold leaf.

The rear of the Palace and its garden.

Admission to the garden is free, and many Berliners exercise here.

Some of the garden’s residents.

A reflecting pool is for reflection.

A better view of the garden-facing facade.

The architecture dwarfs a person and is meant to.

The garden backs up onto the Spree river.

3 responses to “BERLIN: Prussian Pleasure Palace”

Ken

October 6, 2018

Just noting that Frederick the Great predates the American Civil War by a century.

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1. Clint Swift
  
  October 6, 2018
  
  Indeed. Right Frederick, wrong century. He built the east wing in the 1740s. Thanks, Ken.
  
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patyclark

October 6, 2018

There’s an old Jewish-American saying: “Rich or poor, it’s nice to have money.” But the comment on the gilding reminds me of a point that Thomas More makes in Utopia, to the effect that gold is assigned value only because we choose to do so. It’s not a metal that has much practical use.
(from Richard)

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