Neuer Marstall

The Neue Marstall (New Royal Stables) in Berlin's Mitte district is a striking historic landmark on Schloßplatz that originally served as the royal stables of the Prussian court. Built between 1896 and 1901 to designs by the architect Ernst Ihne, the building follows the Neo-Baroque style, with clear echoes of the Prussian Baroque of around 1700. Its architectural language deliberately drew on contemporary buildings such as the Berlin Palace and the Zeughaus. The monumental ensemble consists of three wings arranged in a U shape, plus a connecting wing in the inner courtyard. The façade facing the Spree is the longest, at more than 176 meters (about 577 feet), while the main façade faces Schloßplatz. The building originally housed the stables for the royal family's horses and its carriage museum, which was open to paying visitors at the time.

After the end of the monarchy, the complex became the main home of the Berlin City Library from 1920. In World War II, the building was heavily damaged in an air raid and gutted by fire. Reconstruction between 1950 and 1965 was carried out in a simplified form, and much of Otto Lessing's original sculptural decoration was removed. This included the horse tamers on the central projecting bay, the warrior sculptures in Roman armor on the side bays, and the Prometheus and Perseus fountains. Architectural details such as balustrades and certain decorative window elements were lost as well. Reliefs were later installed in place of the demolished fountains, and since 2005, the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin has also used the building as a secondary site alongside the City Library.

Today, the Neue Marstall is a five-story building with rusticated base levels and upper floors articulated with pilasters. The second upper floor serves as the formal piano nobile (belle étage). Only a few of the original sculptures, which referred thematically to the building's function as a royal stable, have survived, including the horse tamers on the central projecting bay of the Spree façade. Visitors can experience the historic building today in the context of its cultural use, as it provides space for both the library and the music school. The architecture, with its three projecting bays on the Schloßplatz side and the portal with a broken pediment on the Spree front, bears witness to the former splendor of the Prussian court, even though postwar reconstruction altered many of the fine details.