Schönhausen Castle

The palace's origins trace back to 1662 when Countess Sophie Theodore zu Dohna-Schlobitten acquired the Niederschönhausen and Pankow estates, commissioning a Dutch-style manor house there in 1664. After several changes of ownership, the property passed to Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg in 1691, who initiated renovations. Under King Frederick I, the palace was expanded by Eosander von Göthe starting in 1704. Following the king's death in 1713, the palace gradually fell into disrepair until King Frederick II gifted it to his wife, Elisabeth Christine, as a summer residence in 1740. She had the park transformed into a Rococo pleasure garden. During the Seven Years' War, Russian troops devastated the palace, but it was rebuilt in 1764 under Elisabeth Christine, achieving its present appearance. After her death in 1797, the park was redesigned into an English garden by Peter Joseph Lenné in 1828/1829. In the 20th century, from 1935, it served as an exhibition venue and a storage site for "degenerate art." After World War II, it was used by the Soviet military administration before becoming the official residence of GDR President Wilhelm Pieck after the founding of the GDR, and later a guesthouse for the GDR government. Following German reunification, important political discussions took place here, including the Round Table and parts of the Two Plus Four Negotiations. Since 2005, it has been under the care of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg and has been open as a museum since 2009.

Schönhausen Palace is situated in Berlin, specifically in the Niederschönhausen district of Pankow, within the Berlin region, Germany. It stands at an elevation of approximately 44 meters above sea level.

Today, Schönhausen Palace houses a museum open to visitors. It showcases restored rooms from Elisabeth Christine's era, Berlin's only fully preserved Rococo interior in the ballroom, and representative rooms from the GDR period, including Wilhelm Pieck's study. Additionally, artworks from the East Prussian Schlobitten Palace are on display.

• Gutshaus Rosenthal (manor house), approx. 2.9 km away
• Rittergut Blankenfelde (manor house), approx. 4.6 km away
• Schloss Malchow (palace), approx. 5.3 km away
• Berliner Dom (sacred building), approx. 6.6 km away