Schloss Babelsberg
Neo-Gothic summer residence of Emperor Wilhelm I on the Havel shore in Park Babelsberg – interior rooms currently accessible only on special tours.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Palace and park Babelsberg were built from 1833 onward for Prince Wilhelm of Prussia, later Emperor Wilhelm I, and his wife Augusta of Saxe-Weimar. Karl Friedrich Schinkel created a first building the size of a small cottage between 1833 and 1835, in the style of English neo-Gothic. After Wilhelm became heir to the throne in 1840, his representative duties grew, so Ludwig Persius and Johann Heinrich Strack expanded the palace between 1844 and 1849.
For more than fifty years Babelsberg served the later royal and imperial couple as a summer residence. In the 1860s to 1880s it was one of the most important places of social and political life in Prussia, with the proclamation of the German Empire in 1871 as its high point. The five terraces around the palace were intended, following garden designer Hermann Fürst von Pückler-Muskau, to act as "palace rooms under the open sky". In World War II the palace served as the largest storage depot of the Prussian palace administration; after 1945 it was used, among others, by the People's Judges' School, the Hochschule für Filmkunst (University of Film Art) and a museum of prehistory and early history.
Since 2016 the facade and terraces have been restored, and the fountains run again from April to October. The interior rooms still await renovation and can only be seen on special tours with the palace director.
Highlights
- Neo-Gothic palace on the Havel shore, designed by Schinkel, Persius and Strack
- Five terraces based on ideas by Pückler-Muskau
- Restored fountains from April to October
- Special tour through the not yet renovated rooms of the main floor
- Summer residence of Wilhelm I and Augusta
- Operated by
- Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG)
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €14 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €12Holders of the palace annual pass and all others entitled to free admission |
Prices of the special tour "Zeit(ge)schichten". The usual rules for free admission at SPSG events do not apply here; eligible visitors pay the reduced price.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: not available
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
The special tours are marked by the SPSG as "not wheelchair-accessible".
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Potsdam, Alt Nowawes
Stop "Potsdam, Alt Nowawes".
By car
Paid parking
Paid parking for cars in the vicinity of the palace.
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | The palace director leads visitors through the not yet renovated rooms of the main floor. A short presentation covers three topics: the Sulu Sea episode of Prussian-German foreign policy, the protection of art during World War II, and the use of the rooms after 1945. |
