- Type
- Palace / château
- Origins
- 1542 · 16th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Style
- Renaissance architecture
- Commissioned by
- Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg
- Visiting
- probably – Wikidata lists it as a museum or gives tickets, opening hours or visitor numbers; check before you go
- Coordinates
- 52.4672°, 13.2614°
History
Elector Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg built a moated Renaissance hunting lodge called Zum grünen Wald ('at the green forest') on the lakeshore in 1542–1543, and the whole Grunewald forest later took its name from it. During his reign his mistress Anna Sydow lived here for some twenty years. After the elector's death in 1571 two corner wings were added on the lake side, and in 1705–1708 King Frederick I had the lodge remodelled in Baroque style under Martin Grünberg and the moat filled in. In the 19th century the Grunewald again became a royal hunting ground for par force hunts, including an annual St Hubert's Day hunt, and in 1891 the lodge was the scene of a notorious society scandal known as the Kotze affair. After the fall of the monarchy it passed to the Prussian state and has been a museum since 1932; it came through the war undamaged, and in May 1949 it became the first art museum in Berlin to reopen to the public.
What to see
The lodge is a museum of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation (SPSG), holding Berlin's largest collection of paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Younger, portraits of Brandenburg-Prussian rulers and the only Renaissance hall to survive in the city. However, the exhibition, like the hunting museum in the neighbouring former hunting-equipment store, is closed for renovation, which is expected to last until April 2027. The café remains open, and the ground floor opens for selected events such as the Christmas market. The building can be seen from outside on a walk along the Grunewaldsee.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q531032
Popularity: articles about this site in 15 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).