Spandau Citadel

Spandau Citadel is considered one of the most significant and best-preserved High Renaissance fortresses in Europe. It lies northeast of Spandau's Old Town on the opposite bank of the Havel, in the Berlin neighborhood of Haselhorst, and is one of the borough's central attractions. At the heart of the complex is a medieval castle, of which the keep and the palas (the great hall) are still preserved. Between 1559 and 1594, a fortress that reflected the state of the art at the time was built around this historic core. Farther afield in the borough, you'll find other structures that belonged to the fortress, such as Fort Hahneberg in Staaken, built as late as 1886, as well as remains of the Teltow Bridge Redoubt (Teltower Brückschanze) at the Schanzenwald forest.

The history of the site reaches far back in time. Archaeological finds show that a Slavic fortification already stood here in the eleventh century. Later, the Brandenburg electors had a fortress built at the confluence of the Spree and Havel rivers to protect the nearby residential city of Berlin. After construction began in 1560 and the first garrison moved in in 1580, the fortress was completed in 1594. In 1620, the town of Spandau was surrounded by ramparts, which gave the fortress its function as a citadel.

The military history of the complex is marked by numerous conflicts. During the war with France, the fortress surrendered without a fight in October 1806, and Napoleon Bonaparte inspected it the following day. After occupation by French and Polish troops, it was handed over to the Prussian army in 1813, after the powder magazine on the Queen Bastion exploded during the siege. During the Nazi era, the Wehrmacht set up a laboratory here that carried out research on nerve gases. At the end of World War II, the commander handed the citadel over to the Red Army without a fight in May 1945.

The architecture of the citadel was shaped largely by the Italian architect Francesco Chiaramella de Gandino, who was later replaced by Rochus zu Lynar. The symmetrically designed fortress has four bastions connected by curtain walls, leaving no blind spots for attackers. The gatehouse in the south curtain wall is an ornate gate whose present Neoclassical façade dates from 1839 and replaces the original Renaissance façade, which was damaged in 1813. Notable is the gatehouse's floating foundation, which was necessary because it had to be built on difficult ground.

One of Spandau's landmarks is the 30-meter-high Julius Tower. A spiral staircase with 153 steps leads to the top, where you get sweeping views over Spandau, Tegel, central Berlin and the Grunewald. The tower, whose base dates to the 13th century, originally served as a defensive and watch tower as well as a place of refuge. After a fire in 1813 and the collapse of the top of the wall, Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed a new crenellated crown in 1836 that blends harmoniously into the Gothic structure. The origin of the tower's name is not clearly established historically, but it may go back to a visit by Duke Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel or to an older designation.

West of the gatehouse lies the palas, the former residence of the castle and its rulers. The interior rooms were originally unplastered, and the building was remodeled in Renaissance style between 1520 and 1523. The widowed Electress Elisabeth lived here, among others. After a destructive conversion into an officers' mess in the 1930s, the building has been reconstructed in Neo-Gothic style since 1977. In the west curtain wall, the fortress rampart between the King and Crown Prince bastions, you'll find the Archaeological Window Spandau Castle. Here you can see structural remains from the Middle Ages, including the remnants of a Slavic timber-and-earth wall and the stone castle wall.

A special cultural treasure in this area is a collection of 23 medieval Jewish gravestones recovered from the foundations of the palas. These stones probably come from a Jewish cemetery in Spandau and were used as building material after the expulsion of the Jews from the March of Brandenburg in the early 16th century. The inscriptions provide important information about Jewish life in the Berlin-Brandenburg region. Since 2016, the former provisions depot has housed the permanent exhibition "Unveiled – Berlin and Its Monuments." The exhibits include 26 statues and 40 busts from the former Siegesallee (Victory Avenue), as well as the head of the demolished East Berlin Lenin monument, which was buried in a sand pit for a long time.

Besides the historical exhibitions, the citadel today offers a wide range of cultural and creative uses. The former arsenal has housed the Spandau City History Museum since 1992, documenting the history of the town. The Old Barracks now serve as a center for contemporary art, while the Italian Courtyards and the Gothic Hall can be rented as venues for concerts, festivals and private events. A medieval festival, the Citadel Music Festival and a historical Christmas market are held here regularly. The citadel is also a special habitat for bats, which you can see in a viewing enclosure in the basement of Building 4.