New in scene: Frederick the Great in Charlottenburg

Thus, the function of Charlottenburg as a place of courtly festivities is made clear, the sometimes problematic relations of the monarch to his court artists are discussed, and it is explained how and by whom the image of the thrifty and self-sacrificing monarch was actually created. In addition, the question of how the king actually made his art purchases can be investigated.

Another topic will be the photo documentation of all ceiling paintings by Antoine Pesne (1683-1757), which was completed two weeks before their final destruction in the winter of 1943.

Only two months after Frederick the Great ascended the throne, he had the foundation stone laid for the first palace building of his reign: the New Wing in Charlottenburg.

Under the leadership of Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff (1699-1753), apartments were built there for the young king and his wife Elisabeth Christine (1715-1797), but above all two new ballrooms, since Frederick used the New Wing primarily for family celebrations. Especially on the occasion of the weddings of his siblings, nieces and nephews, the king arranged large celebrations in Charlottenburg.

After the severe destruction during the Second World War and the reconstruction, it was decided to reconstruct most of these Frederician interiors.

While an important part of the high-carat paintings with which Frederick had the concert hall and the Gris de Lin chamber in particular furnished has been preserved, all furniture from Frederician times was removed from Charlottenburg as early as the 19th century. In order that these interiors can still be experienced again by visitors, the furnishings are made with preserved furniture that Friedrich had commissioned for the Potsdam City Palace, which was also severely damaged in World War II and subsequently demolished. These were created between 1745 and 1747, and thus at the same time that the King's second apartment in the New Wing was being furnished.

The rooms of the Friedrich Apartments in Charlottenburg and Potsdam also corresponded completely in their function. At the same time, most of the paintings belonging to the original Frederician furnishings are now once again on display in the rooms in which they were demonstrably located from the beginning.

The fundamental revision of the Rococo rooms, in addition to the rooms on the dynastic history of the Hohenzollern dynasty, which were opened a year ago, is the result of the "Charlottenburg 2030" project, which includes the first complete and comprehensive museum redesign of the palace since its reconstruction.

The project is made possible by the generous support of the Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin (DKLB).