Freunde und Förderer Schloss Britz

Britz Palace (Schloss Britz) in Berlin's Neukölln district is the former manor house of a historic estate and today serves as the seat of the Schloss Britz Cultural Foundation. The history of the property dates back to the 13th century, when the Britzke family lived on the estate. After a number of changes of ownership, including prominent Prussian ministers such as Count von Hertzberg, who had the interiors decorated with murals, the palace passed into private civilian hands in the 19th century. Under its last private owner, Wilhelm A. J. Wrede, the building was given its present palace-like appearance in the Neo-Renaissance style between 1880 and 1883 by the architect Carl Busse, complete with a stair tower and stately Historicist rooms. After it was sold to the city of Berlin in 1924 and underwent a comprehensive restoration in the 1980s that returned it to its 1883 state, the palace is now a protected cultural monument.

In the faithfully reconstructed rooms, you can visit a museum of domestic life in the Gründerzeit, the boom years of the late 19th century. Alongside the permanent exhibition, the palace hosts changing special exhibitions, readings, and concerts. Guest rooms on the upper floor are used as accommodations for the district and as a training hotel. The palace is also part of a lively cultural site: the adjoining farmyard, with its historic 19th-century farm buildings, now houses institutions such as the Museum Neukölln and the Paul Hindemith Music School.

The experience is rounded out by the estate park, which covers about 1.8 hectares (roughly 4.5 acres) and has a history of more than 300 years. Originally laid out as a Baroque kitchen and pleasure garden, the park is now characterized by a winding network of paths dating from 1890, designed largely by the royal garden inspector Wilhelm Nahlop. The park is notable for its old trees, which include lindens, horse chestnuts, maples, and Berlin's oldest ginkgo tree. Other sights in the park include a copy of the famous bronze Milkmaid figure and a bust of the minister Rüdiger von Ilgen. Right next door is the Horseshoe Estate (Hufeisensiedlung), a pioneering example of modernist urban planning that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.