Schönhausen Palace

In the green district of Pankow in Berlin lies Schönhausen Palace – a place that breathes more than 300 years of history.

Originally built as the summer residence of Prussian Queen Elisabeth Christine, wife of Frederick the Great, the palace still embodies Baroque elegance and courtly culture. Here, the queen found her own retreat and shaped the palace with her personality and style.

Over time, Schönhausen underwent many changes: it survived wars, political upheavals, and social transformations. Particularly during the Nazi era, it played a significant role. Between 1938 and 1940, around 3,750 works confiscated from German museums as part of the “Degenerate Art” campaign were stored here. From Schönhausen, the sale of these artworks abroad was organized – a dark chapter in German art history.

An extension of the permanent exhibition, opening in spring 2026, is dedicated to this very period. In five newly designed rooms, visitors can explore the background of the “Degenerate Art” campaign and the fates of the artists and actors involved. Original documents, letters, and selected artworks make the events and their consequences vividly tangible.

This new exhibition complements the existing presentation, which already illustrates the varied uses of the palace from the Prussian era through its time as a guest house of the GDR to German reunification. Schönhausen Palace thus remains a vibrant place where art, history, and remembrance are impressively intertwined.