Schinkel Museum

Schinkelplatz in Berlin's Mitte district is a historic triangular square set between residential and commercial buildings, the Spree Canal, and the Bauakademie (Building Academy), which is still being rebuilt. The square was laid out in 1837 to plans by the landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné and was named in 1869 in honor of the Prussian master builder Karl Friedrich Schinkel. It originally served as an ornamental square in front of the north facade of the Bauakademie, which Schinkel himself had designed. The area had previously been the site of the Old Packhof (customs warehouse) and a main customs office for river traffic. After being largely destroyed in World War II and built over by the East German Foreign Ministry in the 1960s, the square was recreated as an open space in 1996 and comprehensively reconstructed between 2007 and 2008.

Today the square is a valuable ensemble from the standpoint of garden preservation, largely restored to its appearance of 1886/87. Three important monuments stand at its center: one to Albrecht Daniel Thaer, the founder of modern agricultural science; one to the industrial pioneer Peter Christian Wilhelm Beuth; and the statue named for the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Here Schinkel is shown with a drawing pencil and the floor plan of the Altes Museum, flanked by four caryatids symbolizing his fields of work. The monuments stand on an area of colorfully ornamented mosaic paving, accompanied by a semicircular fountain and a polished granite bench. The fountain, whose jet is regulated by a wind gauge, forms the visual and spatial focal point of the square together with the statues.

For visitors, Schinkelplatz offers a quiet retreat in the middle of Berlin's bustling city center, right on the Spree. The harmonious combination of historic sculpture, well-kept greenery, and architectural heritage makes the square an important testament to the city's middle-class citizenry and to Prussian cultural history. Although the neighboring Bauakademie has yet to be rebuilt, the careful reconstruction of the square creates a dignified setting that recalls the achievements of the people it honors and enriches Berlin's historic center.