Schloss Caputh

About the museum

Schloss Caputh is considered the oldest surviving pleasure palace in the Potsdam area from the reign of the Great Elector, Friedrich Wilhelm. From 1671, his second wife, Electress Dorothea, had the country house on the Havel lavishly expanded; the stucco ceilings and ceiling paintings in the banquet hall and the princely living quarters date from this period. Her stepson Friedrich III, who became King Friedrich I in Prussia in 1701, also held festivities here, and in 1709 he received Augustus the Strong and Frederick IV of Denmark for the so-called Meeting of the Three Kings.

Under Friedrich Wilhelm I, the summer dining hall was clad with around 7,500 Dutch faience tiles. Later the palace was leased out and eventually sold by the Crown; from 1947 it served as a vocational school. Unlike many royal residences, its structure came through this eventful history almost unchanged.

After extensive restoration, the building opened to the public as a palace museum for the first time in 1999. The Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten presents the Tile Hall, the banquet hall, two cavalier rooms, the apartments of the electoral couple and the porcelain cabinet, with furniture, paintings, lacquerware and faience illustrating princely domestic life around 1700; a display in the lower ground floor explains the restoration. The palace also has a small landscape garden based on a plan by Peter Joseph Lenné.

Highlights

• Tile Hall with around 7,500 Dutch faience tiles
• Ceiling paintings and stucco from the late 17th century
• Apartments of Elector Friedrich Wilhelm and Electress Dorothea
• Porcelain cabinet
• Setting right on the Havel with a landscape garden

Permanent exhibitions

• Schlossmuseum Caputh – A tour through the Tile Hall, banquet hall, cavalier rooms, the apartments of the electoral couple and the porcelain cabinet, furnished as around 1700; in the lower ground floor, a display documents the restoration.

Founded

1999

Operated by

Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg

Director

Petra Reichelt

Admission & discounts

Free admission with the SPSG Palaces annual pass. Tickets at the palace ticket office in the Logierhaus or online.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials
• Audio description: no information

The exhibition rooms are not accessible to wheelchair users. For conservation reasons, strollers are not allowed in the rooms. Assistance dogs welcome. Group tours in plain language can be booked.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Stroller-friendly: not available

Children's quiz for ages 6 and up to download, and children's tour "Wer lebte im Schloss Caputh?" (Who lived in Caputh Palace?) for 6- to 10-year-olds. For conservation reasons, strollers are not permitted in the exhibition rooms.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Lockers

The Logierhaus on the palace courtyard houses the palace ticket office, museum shop, and tourist information, where drinks and regional products are also available. Café Havelerie at Straße der Einheit 52. Lockers in limited numbers (up to 35 × 35 × 50 cm).

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit