Belvedere (Charlottenburg)

Brief information

The Belvedere in Charlottenburg began as a tea house with a viewing tower: the name itself is connected with a “beautiful view.” It is a small country palace in the northeastern part of the park of Charlottenburg Palace, not far from the Spree. It was built for Frederick William II in 1788–1789, and the scale of the building immediately explains its role: not a ceremonial residence, but a park pavilion for select pursuits.

The pavilion was used for performances by the royal chamber music orchestra, as well as for rituals of the Order of the Golden Rosicrucians. Today this former “house for views and private gatherings” works differently: it displays art porcelain from the Royal Porcelain Manufactory Berlin. In this way, the building reads not only as a palace, but also as a showcase of refined court culture.

What to notice first

It makes sense to look at the Belvedere as a pavilion arranged around view and symmetry. The building’s plan is an oval with four rectangular projections; it is in these small projections that the entrances to the ground floor are located. This form makes the palace compact, but not simple: the central volume and the attached parts immediately show that this is not an ordinary house, but park architecture designed for the eye to move around the building.

The second floor helps reveal the transitional style: on the eastern and western sides there are columns, while on the northern and southern sides there are pilasters, that is, flat “columns” on the wall. The balconies rest on columns, and above, the building is crowned by a copper dome. On the dome are three gilded youthful figures with baskets of flowers; this is a later, free interpretation of the lost group. After the damage of 1943, the building was restored according to old engravings, but the interiors of the three halls were not returned to their original form. Therefore, from the outside the attempt to restore the appearance is especially noticeable, while inside there is already a different museum life.