Page 89
Royal Palace. BERLIN. Section 2. 65
crosses the Spree to the Kaiser Wilhelm-Strasse, in which the lofty
Marien-Kirchc is visible (p. 153).
The *R,oyal Palace (Konigliches Schloss; PI. R, 26) is in the
form of a rectangle 630 ft. in length and 381 ft. in depth, enclosing
two large courts, which are entered by five portals, each bearing a
number. The facade rises in four stories to the height of 98 ft., while
the dome above it is 232ft. high. The original building was a castle
erected by Elector Frederick II. on the Spree in 1443-51. Since
1538 Joachim II. converted it into a palace after the designs of
Kaspar Theyss, with a tilting-yard on the S. side, the whole forming
a handsome example of the German Renaissance, highly praised by
contemporary critics. Elector John George finished the enclosure
of the E. court in 1580-95; from his time date the water-front on
the Spree with its corner-turrets (PI. 16) and the 'Schloss-Apotheke'
(chemist's shop), protruding towards the N. and recently shortened.
A second court was added (to the W.) and the N.E. corner completed.
Under the Great Elector, who at first directed his energies to laying
out the Lustgarten, Nering erected the round-arched gallery on the
Spree (PI. 15) in 1685. The Elector's successor, Frederick I., the first
King of Prussia, determined to replace the irregular pile of build¬
ings that had now arisen by a uniform structure of massive and
imposing proportions, and confided the execution of this task to
Andreas Schliiter, who began his work in 1698. The gigantic
scheme of alteration thus projected has, however, never been fully
carried out, the part of the building on the Spree and the transverse
building still retaining their original form. In 1706 Schltlter retired
from the direction of the work, as the rebuilding of the so-called
'Miinzturm', which was to be some 300 ft. high (at the N.W. corner,
where the column with the eagle now stands), had failed. He was
succeeded by Johunn Friedrich Eosander, surnamed von Goethe,
a native of Sweden, to whom is due the architecture of the largest
court and of the W- facade. In 1716 the process of alteration was
brought by Bbhme to a conclusion for the nonce, and during the
reigns of Frederick II. and Frederick William II. comparatively
trifling additions only were made. In 1825-26 Schinkel restored
the apartments of Frederick II. for the Crown Prince. The spa¬
cious chapel in the W. wing, with its dome, was constructed in the
reign of Frederick William IV. by Staler and Schadow (1845-52),
and greatly enhances the effect of the exterior. A new period of
building activity began under Emp. William II., who made the pal¬
ace once more the actual residence of the reigning sovereign. Great
gates of wrought iron were placed in the five outer portals; a ter¬
race with a landing-stage was constructed on the river-side; and,
finally, the W. wing, with the White Saloon (p. 68) and the neigh¬
bouring apartments, has recently undergone a thorough reconstruc¬
tion from the designs of Pine.
Baedeker's Berlin. 3rd Edit. "