Britz Castle

The village of Britz was first documented in 1237. For centuries, the Britzke family held the knight's estate as a fief. In the 16th century, a half-timbered house stood on the site of the current palace. Following the devastation of the Thirty Years' War and repeated divisions of inheritance, Katharina von Britzke sold the property to the Prussian Elector in 1699. Around 1706, Samuel von Chwalkowski, chamber president under Frederick I, had a stone house built. Under Frederick William, Count of Schwerin, the estate became an allodial property in 1717. In the 18th century, it was owned by Heinrich Rüdiger von Ilgen and Count Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg. The latter had the interiors redesigned by Bernhard Rode between 1770 and 1772. In the 19th century, the estate passed into the hands of bourgeois manufacturers. Johann Carl Jouanne inhabited it from 1824 to 1857 and undertook extensive renovations, during which much of the Baroque decor was lost. Under Wilhelm A. J. Wrede, the house acquired its current palace-like appearance in the Neo-Renaissance style between 1880 and 1883, complemented by a stair tower and representative interiors. In 1924, the city of Berlin acquired the property. After World War II, it served as a refugee and later as a children's home. Since a comprehensive restoration from 1985 to 1988, Britz Palace has been publicly accessible and hosts cultural events.

Britz Palace is located in the Britz district of Berlin, in the state of Berlin, Germany, at an elevation of approximately 44 m above sea level.

Today, Britz Palace houses a museum that displays the residential culture of the Gründerzeit era. The rooms are faithfully reconstructed and accessible to visitors. The adjacent manor park is also open to the public.

• Lankwitz Manor House (manor and estate house), approx. 5.6 km away
• Marienfelde Manor House (manor and estate house), approx. 6.1 km away
• Reich Air Ministry (military buildings), approx. 7.8 km away
• Schwerin Palace (residence), approx. 7.9 km away