Schloßplatz (, ''Palace Square or Castle Square'') is a square located on

Museum Island The Museum Island (, ) is a museum complex on the northern part of Spree (river), Spree Island in the Mitte (locality), historic heart of Berlin, Germany. It is one of the capital's most visited sights and one of the most important museum sites ...

(''Museumsinsel'') in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The square was restored in 2017-2023 in connection with the reconstruction of the

Berlin Palace The Berlin Palace (), formerly known as the Royal Palace (), is a large building adjacent to Berlin Cathedral and the Museum Island in the Mitte area of Berlin. It was the main residence of the Electors of Brandenburg, Kings of Prussia and Ge ...

(''Berliner Schloss'') as the home of the

Humboldt Forum The Humboldt Forum is a museum dedicated to human history, art and culture, located in the Berlin Palace on the Museum Island in the historic centre of Berlin. It is named in honour of the Prussian scholars Wilhelm von Humboldt, Wilhelm and Alexa ...

. It measures about 225 m by 175 m, with its long side oriented on an axis approximately southwest/northeast. At its west corner is the Schlossbrücke (Palace Bridge), from which

Unter den Linden Unter den Linden (, "under the Tilia, linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte (locality), Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. Running from the Berlin Palace to the Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the Tilia, linden trees (known ...

leads west to the

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate ( ) is an 18th-century Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical monument in Berlin. One of the best-known landmarks of Germany, it was erected on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin t ...

. From the same corner, Karl-Liebknecht-Straße runs northeast alongside the square and on to

Alexanderplatz (, ''Alexander Square'') is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from in the north-ea ...

. Until the early 20th century, only the square south of the palace was so named, the square north of it being the ''

Lustgarten The Lustgarten (, ''Pleasure Garden'') is a park in Museum Island in central Berlin at the foreground of the ''Altes Museum''. It is next to the (Berlin Cathedral) and near the reconstructed (''Berlin City Palace'') of which it was originally ...

''. "Schloßplatz" is also a common name for

squares In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

in many German-speaking countries. Other cities which have a Schloßplatz include

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

History

It was the site of the Berliner Stadtschloss (Berlin City Palace). From 1949 to 1990 it was part of

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

, the capital of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. In 1950, the remains of the city palace were blown up, and in 1951 the square was renamed Marx-Engels-Platz (Marx-Engels Square) after

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Palast der Republik The Palace of the Republic (, ) was a building in Berlin that hosted the '' Volkskammer'', the parliament of East Germany, from 1976 to 1990. Also known as the "People's Palace", it was located across the Unter den Linden from Museum Island in ...

, the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

building, and the Foreign Ministry building. The Council of State building contains a

balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...

from the former city palace, where Karl Liebknecht proclaimed a socialist republic on November 9, 1918. The

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

's repression of the East German uprising of 1953 began on the square, when Soviet soldiers fired at East Germans trying to climb onto a

T-34 tank The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

. Following

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in 1990, the name ''Schloßplatz'' was restored in 1994. BlnSch Brunnen

The

Palast der Republik The Palace of the Republic (, ) was a building in Berlin that hosted the '' Volkskammer'', the parliament of East Germany, from 1976 to 1990. Also known as the "People's Palace", it was located across the Unter den Linden from Museum Island in ...

was originally scheduled to be demolished in 2005-06, but this was delayed, and a series of conceptual and

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

events were held in the Palast during the period of reprieve. Demolition of Palast der Republik was completed in 2008. A temporary exhibition venue Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin was then constructed on the western side of the Schloßplatz and held a number of contemporary art exhibitions over the following two years. Between 2012 and 2020 the Stadtschloss palace was rebuilt with three replica façades on north, west and south, a replica courtyard, and a modern interior and eastern facade. It houses a conference centre and several museum collections of the

, which opened online on 16 December 2020. The music video for the song ' Ich Will' (I Want) by the German band

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...

was filmed in this location.

Gallery

File:19060223 berlin konigl marstall schlossbrunnen.jpg, Schloßplatz with Neuer Marstall and Neptunbrunnen, ca. 1900 File:Berlin - Neptunbrunnen - um 1900.jpg, Schloßplatz with Neptunbrunnen and Berlin Palace, ca. 1900 File:Titzenthaler Schlossplatz 1900.jpg, Schloßplatz, 1900 File:Stadtschloss berlin-13.jpg, Aerial view, ca. 1900 File:Straubeplan Berliner Schloss.jpg, Old map, 1910

References

External links

Berlin Tourist Board: Schloßplatz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlossplatz (Berlin) Squares in Berlin Buildings and structures in Mitte

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links