Schloss Pfaueninsel

About the museum

King Friedrich Wilhelm II had a rural pleasure palace built on the Pfaueninsel in 1794 for himself and his close confidante Wilhelmine Enke, later Countess Lichtenau. The half-timbered building, clad in wooden planks, is staged as an artificial ruin and was even described as a dilapidated Roman country house. In the tower room, the “Otaheitisches Kabinett” (Tahitian Cabinet) was created; painted as a bamboo hut with palm trees and peacocks, it brings the era's enthusiasm for the South Seas to Prussia. The remaining rooms are furnished in Early Classicist style.

Friedrich Wilhelm III and Queen Luise later used the palace as a summer residence and even had palm trees brought to the island. From 1818, Peter Joseph Lenné redesigned the island as a landscape garden; in 1821 he laid out Berlin's oldest rose garden. Further buildings include the dairy (Meierei) and the Kavalierhaus by Schinkel; the palm house burned down in 1880.

Today the roughly 67-hectare Pfaueninsel is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site and is protected as a nature reserve. In season, the palace can only be visited on a guided tour; same-day tickets are sold at the ferry house (Fährhaus).

Highlights

• Otaheitisches Kabinett as a South Seas bamboo hut in the tower room
• Palace as a staged romantic ruin dating from 1794
• Early Classicist rooms with furniture, wallpaper and carvings
• Landscape garden by Lenné with Berlin's oldest rose garden
• Access by ferry to the UNESCO World Heritage island

Permanent exhibition

• Schloss Pfaueninsel mit Otaheitischem Kabinett – The guided tour shows the Early Classicist rooms of the pleasure palace and the Otaheitisches Kabinett, designed as a South Seas bamboo hut.

Operated by

Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG)

Admission & discounts

Palace admission (€8, reduced €6) is sold only on the day at the ferry house and is in addition to the ferry ticket. Ferry tickets are available online and at the ticket machines (Visa, MasterCard, Girocard; cash only in coins), not from ferry staff. Holders of the SPSG annual pass enter free.

Accessibility

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

The palace and its immediate surroundings are not wheelchair-accessible, and the exhibition rooms are not accessible to wheelchair users. A wheelchair-accessible toilet is available at the ferry house. The path to the right of the ferry house has a 15% gradient and can only be negotiated by wheelchair users with a companion; the paths on the island are suitable for accompanied people with disabilities. Assistance dogs are welcome.

Kids & families

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

For children aged 7 to 12 there is the discovery tour “Gartendenkmal Pfaueninsel” (Pfaueninsel garden monument), a playful walk with quiz questions. For reasons of heritage protection, strollers may not be taken into the palace exhibition rooms.

Getting there & parking

The Pfaueninsel can only be reached by ferry.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check: not available
• Lockers: not available

Café garden on the lawn. Museum shop in the ferry house (April to October, Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00–17:00). There is no way to leave luggage in the listed historic rooms.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit