Fürst-Pückler-Museum Park und Schloss Branitz

Current exhibitions

About the museum

Schloss Branitz, a late-Baroque palace, was built in 1770 and 1771 as the manor house of the Pückler family. The garden designer and writer Hermann Fürst von Pückler-Muskau moved to Branitz in 1845, after having to give up his estate in Muskau. From 1846 he had the palace remodeled and, together with his wife Lucie, designed the extensive park with pleasure grounds, water areas, earth pyramids and an outer park. When he died in 1871, he was buried in the Seepyramide (lake pyramid) in the park.

The colorful interiors, including the three Oriental rooms on the upper floor, a reminder of Pückler's journey to the Orient, the library and the original Green Hall from 1772, reflect the eccentric taste of the couple. After 1945 the family was dispossessed; from 1946 to 1961 the palace housed the Cottbus city museum, and until 1990 the district museum.

Since 1995 Branitz has been looked after by the Stiftung Fürst-Pückler-Museum Park und Schloss Branitz. The foundation maintains park and palace, preserves collections, archives and libraries on Pückler, and shows the Carl Blechen collection of the city of Cottbus. The Oriental rooms reopened in 2022 after restoration; the Branitz Tree University, which is adapting historic gardens to climate change, is also being built on the grounds.

Highlights

• Palace with original living rooms and the Oriental rooms of Prince Pückler
• Branitz park with lake pyramid, pleasure grounds and outer park
• Gondola rides through the park's water landscape
• Exhibition "Meister der Landschaft" on Pückler and Carl Blechen
• Palace gardens with Café Goldene Ananas and a historic tree-planting machine
• Branitz Tree University

Permanent exhibitions

• Fürst Pückler. Ein Europäer in Branitz – Exhibits in eleven rooms of the palace show the personality, ancestors and daily life of the prince, such as his guests and meals.
• Meister der Landschaft. Fürst Pückler und Carl Blechen – The exhibition in the visitor center combines the shared principles of painting and garden art and shows how the Branitz park came into being.
• Carl-Blechen-Sammlung der Stadt Cottbus – Works by Cottbus painter Carl Blechen in the princely rooms and the Chamois Room of the palace.

Operated by

Stiftung Fürst-Pückler-Museum Park und Schloss Branitz

Admission & discounts

The price for the palace and visitor center includes an audio guide for the palace. Free admission applies, among others, to teachers accompanying groups from museum education, members of friends' associations, ICOM members, holders of the Ehrenamtskarte Berlin-Brandenburg, and students and staff of the BTU (each with proof).

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The park is wheelchair-accessible, as are the Cavalierhaus and Café Goldene Ananas; the palace is not accessible to wheelchair users because of steps. A wheelchair can be borrowed in the palace for €2. Accessible toilets are in the visitor center, the Marstall, the Cavalierhaus and at the large visitor car park; accessible parking spaces (paid) are at the Kastanienallee car park. A park guide for blind and visually impaired visitors can be borrowed from the museum shop. Inclusive palace tours for visually impaired and blind visitors (60 minutes, €15, max. 10 participants) are by advance registration only at 0355 7515191.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Kids’ birthday parties

A children's page "Pückler erklärt", a park rally that is redesigned every month (sheets from the service hut at the visitor car park), programs for kindergartens and schools, and holiday activities. Children's birthday parties cost €20 per child, at least €100 for 120 minutes, with one accompanying adult free. Children and young people up to 18 have free admission.

Getting there & parking

The Pücklerticket is valid for one day on buses and trams within the city of Cottbus. By bike via the Fürst-Pückler cycle path, the Niederlausitz mining tour or the Spree cycle path; bicycle stands at the Kastanienallee car park and at the visitor center (Robinienweg 5).

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Cavalierhaus next to the palace with restaurant, café and guest rooms (Thu–Sun 11:00–17:00; in the evening the gourmet restaurant "Lou" by reservation); outdoor catering "Kleiner Cavalier" at the visitor center (daily from April, 11:00–17:00); Pückler Café Goldene Ananas in the palace gardens (mid-May to end of September, currently closed for renovation). Museum shop in the palace.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events
• Weddings / ceremonies

Up to 100 guests.

Event room in the visitor center for up to 100 people, another room for 40–50 people, and a billiard room in the palace for meetings. Civil marriage ceremonies in the Green Hall on set dates; non-religious wedding ceremonies and family celebrations on the grounds of the Schlossgärtnerei (palace gardens) from spring to autumn.

Plan your visit