Field Trip Fridays: Charlottenburg

Not the most auspicious day to visit the sprawling Neoclassical Prussian castle and grounds, but it was still interesting, particularly the little exhibition of German Romanticist paintings in the New Pavilion. I’m sure Germans consider Caspar David Friedrich schlocky, but man, could he paint. And since my working definition of art is “Things I can’t do myself,” he definitely counts as an artist in my book. (WAIT: Look at this portrait of him I just found on Wikipedia. He’s like, “How DARE you call me schlocky?!”)

There’s not a whole ton else to say about Charlottenburg: It was built for Princess Sofia Charlotte of Hanover (wife of Friedrich I of Prussia) starting in the late 1690s, bombed mostly to smithereens by the Allies in WWII, and painstakingly restored thereafter, including re-placing all the Ming teacups that got smashed in the Porcelain Cabinet (more on that tomorrow). As Baroque palaces go, it’s not as opulent as Versailles, nor as elegant as Sansouci. But, if you’re into dark portraits of tightly corseted people with assertive Prussian noses, Charlottenburg is the palace for you.

More importantly, the palace park is gorgeous, enormous, and freely open to the public, featuring a pretty canal, various ponds full of waterbirds, colorful bridges, and petite pavilions like the Belvedere, which houses the biggest single collection of Berlin-made porcelain in the world (sadly, closed to the public presently due to Covid). So, definitely worth a visit, if for nothing more than a coffee at the Kleine Orangerie and a stroll through the garden (in the spring or summer, I would recommend: Charlottenburg doesn’t have a hot-chocolate kiosk out in the park to save you from your poor choices like Versailles does).