Peacock Island Castle Schloss Pfaueninsel

In 1793, Frederick William II "rediscovered" the Peacock Island in Berlin and had a half-timbered house built by a local craftsman for himself and Wilhelmine Encke, later Countess Lichtenau -- who is said to have sketched out the design herself. Frederick William III and his wife, Queen Luise, were fond of the house and used it as a summer residence. It was during this period that the peacocks from which the island takes its present name were introduced, and today there are sixty of the birds.

The castle is designed to look like a romantic ruin or folly, with two towers linked by a footbridge (originally of wood, replaced in 1807 by an iron bridge - an early product of the Berlin iron-casting industry). The building was faced with concrete in 1909-11 and now houses a museum. The finely appointed interior bears witness to the quality of the craftsmen of Berlin and Potsdam at the end of the 18th C. Particularly notable are the Neo-Classical Grand Hall on the top floor and the spiral staircase.