Monbijou Park

The Monbijoupark in Berlin-Mitte lies directly across the Spree from Museum Island. Until 1959 the site held Schloss Monbijou, a baroque summer residence that Frederick William I gave to his consort Sophie Dorothea and which later housed Sophie Charlotte and the dowager Empress Augusta Victoria. The war-damaged ruin was blown up by the East German government and the grounds turned into a public green. Today the park is a compact patch of recreation just off the Oranienburger Strasse, with a playground, an outdoor dance area for summer swing nights and the Strandbar Mitte facing the Bode Museum. Visitors come for an evening beer with a view of the Bode Museum's dome, for summer screenings, or simply for a shady seat between Hackescher Markt and Museum Island.