Time (stories) from 350 years

Contrasting tour

The exhibition shows the varied use and offers a contrasting tour through the German history of the last three centuries. All the time layers have been preserved in the building in great abundance and side by side. Contrasts, breaks and flaws are deliberately integrated into the concept of the exhibition. This also applies to the garden, which has been restored as an important monument to the garden history in its design of the 1950s.

History in Time-Lapse

The Prussian-Dutch Countess Sophie Dorothea at Dohna built a first chateau at this point in the 1660s. After complete renewal around 1690 for Elector Friedrich III. Schönhausen was first and foremost marked by Queen Elisabeth Christine who used the castle as a summer residence for more than 50 years (1740-1797). After a long "Sleeping Beauty" and sporadic use, Schönhausen became the focus of the Cold War in the young GDR once again a significant historical role during the Peaceful Revolution as a place of negotiation for the "two-plus-four talks" on German unity.

Residence of the queen

On the ground floor, the exhibition commemorates the residence of Elisabeth Christines, the wife of Frederick the Great. During the restoration works, the original design of the 18th century has emerged in many places during the restoration of the wall and the coloring of the 20th century. In addition, the inventories of the castle in the depots of SPSG were used to identify furniture, paintings and even wallpapers from the time of the queen, which were still in Schönhausen until the early 20th century. They return to the original location after extensive restoration and in some rooms they can give an authentic impression of how the queen lived in her summer castle. In other rooms, works of art of the queen, her person and her interests are illuminated. The objects are from the destroyed apartment Elisabeth Christines in the Berlin castle or from rooms in Schönhausen, which no longer exist in their original form. For the first time ever, the life of Elisabeth Christines is placed at the center of an exhibition.