Charlottenburg Palace

Charlottenburg Palace is Berlin's largest surviving Hohenzollern residence and a landmark of North German Baroque architecture. Elector Frederick III commissioned it in 1695 as a summer retreat for his wife Sophie Charlotte — after her death in 1705, both the palace and the surrounding city district were renamed in her honor. The distinctive copper-green dome, crowned by a gilded Fortuna weathervane, was added by architect Eosander von Göthe in the early 18th century. Heavily bombed in World War II, the palace was painstakingly reconstructed over several decades; the restored interiors now display Prussian porcelain collections, Flemish paintings, and original Rococo furnishings. The expansive palace gardens — part formal French, part English landscape garden — extend along linden-lined avenues and canals, offering one of the few large green spaces in western Berlin. Open Tuesday through Sunday, operated by the Foundation of Prussian Palaces and Gardens.

Baroque summer palace built for Sophie Charlotte with formal French gardens and the Belvedere by the Spree.