The Gardens and Grounds of Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin
A place to explore if the weather is fine
Visitors to Berlin’s Charlottenburg Palace can not only enjoy the delights of its many rooms, now restored to their Baroque splendour after damage caused by a wartime air raid, but can also explore 55 hectares (136 acres) of gardens, lakes and other grounds at the rear of the Palace. These areas are free to visit and are an open space that is greatly valued by local residents.
The original owner of Lietzenburg Palace, Sophie Charlotte, after whom the Palace was renamed after her death, was very interested in garden design and planned a large formal garden after the pattern of that at Versailles, near Paris. The emphasis was on straight lines, long paths and geometric shapes, with regularly placed statues, vases and potted plants. Good use was made of the adjoining River Spree in that a harbour was created for gondolas.
Sophie Charlotte was also very keen on building an Orangery on the western side of the main building and this housed more than 500 orange and lemon trees.