The Prinzessinnenpalais (Princesses' Palace), also known today as the PalaisPopulaire, is a historic royal residence at Unter den Linden 5 in Berlin-Mitte, forming part of the Forum Fridericianum ensemble. It stands in a prime location on the grand boulevard, adjacent to the Kronprinzenpalais (to which it is linked by an arched bridge) and near the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Originally built as a private residence for Prussian royalty—specifically housing the daughters of King Frederick William III and Queen Louise—it exemplifies the layered architectural evolution of 18th- and early 19th-century Berlin, blending Prussian Rococo with Neoclassical restraint. Today, its faithfully reconstructed historic exterior contrasts sharply with a minimalist, exposed-concrete modernist interior, reflecting Berlin's turbulent 20th-century history.
Origins and 18th-Century Construction (1730–1788)
The building’s
roots trace to 1730, when two separate residential houses were erected
along Oberwallstraße, beside the former Berliner Festungsgraben
(fortress moat). One belonged to General von Becheffer (or a similar
high official), the other to Prussian Finance Minister Samuel von
Cocceji (later a key legal reformer under Frederick the Great). These
were functional, unpretentious structures reflecting the pragmatic urban
development under King Frederick William I (“the Soldier King”).
In
1733, architect Friedrich Wilhelm Dieterichs (sometimes spelled
Diterichs) unified the two houses into a single elongated palace by
inserting a central projecting section (Mittelrisalit). The design
followed the Friderizian Rococo style—elegant yet restrained Prussian
Baroque with symmetrical facades, pilasters, curved elements, and
decorative stucco. The palace oriented perpendicular to Unter den
Linden, with Cocceji residing there until his death. It initially served
administrative and minor noble purposes rather than grand royal display.
Ownership changed in 1755 to Margrave Friedrich Heinrich von
Brandenburg-Schwedt (a Hohenzollern relative, sometimes called the
“wicked Margrave”). After his death in 1788, the property transferred
fully to the Prussian royal house (Hohenzollerns). This marked its shift
from private/official use toward courtly residence.
19th-Century
Royal Residence and Neoclassical Expansion (1809–1918)
Under King
Friedrich Wilhelm III, the palace became intimately tied to the royal
family. In the early 19th century, it housed Crown Prince Friedrich
Ludwig Karl (a son of Frederick William II) briefly before serving as
home to the king’s three daughters: Princess Charlotte (1798–1860, later
Empress consort of Russia as wife of Nicholas I), Princess Alexandrine
(1803–1892, later Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin), and Princess
Luise (1808–1870, later Princess of the Netherlands). The sisters lived
there together, hosting intimate salons, pursuing arts, music, and
charity—earning the building its enduring name, Prinzessinnenpalais
(“Princesses’ Palace”).
A famous visual record is Franz Krüger’s
painting Parade auf dem Opernplatz (1824–1830), which depicts the
princesses and court society observing a military parade from the palace
windows while the king and Czar Nicholas I review troops on Unter den
Linden.
Architecturally, major upgrades occurred 1810–1811. Queen
Luise initially commissioned Karl Friedrich Schinkel for a grand head
building (Kopfbau) facing Unter den Linden, but costs led to Heinrich
Gentz executing a more restrained Neoclassical extension instead. Gentz
added the prominent front section with large rectangular windows across
three floors, symmetrical stone facade, and classical restraint.
Schinkel still contributed a connecting Schwibbogen (arched bridge) to
the neighboring Kronprinzenpalais, physically and symbolically linking
the two royal residences. After Queen Luise’s death (1810), the
morganatic wife of Friedrich Wilhelm III—Countess Auguste von Harrach
(Fürstin Liegnitz)—resided here from 1824 onward. Later, it accommodated
other extended family members.
The palace remained a private
Hohenzollern residence until the monarchy’s collapse in 1918.
20th Century: Museums, War, and GDR Rebirth (1918–1989)
After 1918,
ownership passed to the Free State of Prussia and then the State Museums
of Berlin. From 1931 to 1933 (on the 150th anniversary of Schinkel’s
birth), it housed the Schinkel-Museum, displaying the architect’s
paintings, drawings, and sketches. During the Third Reich, it continued
as a museum.
World War II brought near-total destruction. Allied
bombing raids (especially 1943–1945) gutted the interior; only outer
walls and some facade elements survived. In East Berlin under Soviet/GDR
control, the ruins stood abandoned for years while planners documented
surviving details with plaster casts (1952–1953 and 1960–1962).
Reconstruction began in 1962 under GDR architect Richard Paulick
(Bauhaus-trained). Completed 1963–1964 as part of restoring the Forum
Fridericianum, the project recreated the historic Rococo/Neoclassical
exterior facade while installing a fully modernist interior with precast
concrete. It opened on December 25, 1963, as the Operncafé (Opera Café),
incorporating an opera bar, wine tavern, grill restaurant, and terrace
overlooking the Operngarten (now part of Bebelplatz). A wrought-iron
Rococo railing from the demolished Schloss Buch was salvaged for the
staircase. The café became a popular East Berlin social hub, hosting
weekly discos (including for the GDR’s gay scene) and serving as a
filming location for the 1973 DEFA film Die Legende von Paul und Paula.
Post-Reunification and Contemporary Era (1990–Present)
After
German reunification, the building passed to the Treuhand agency. In
1990/1991 it reopened as the Opernpalais with historicizing Rococo-style
interiors replacing Paulick’s modernism. Under operator Manfred Otte
(until 2011), it gained fame for Europe’s largest selection of cakes and
tarts (over 50 varieties), attracting celebrities like Plácido Domingo,
Daniel Barenboim, Helmut Kohl, and Richard von Weizsäcker.
In 2012,
structural work addressed the postwar concrete framework. From
2017–2018, Deutsche Bank leased the northern section and commissioned
Berlin architects Kuehn Malvezzi for a minimalist redesign: exposed
concrete core, plain gray floors, white walls, bare ceilings, and
750–900 m² of flexible exhibition space. The entrance shifted to
Oberwallstraße. It reopened in 2018 as the PalaisPopulaire, Deutsche
Bank’s public art forum showcasing contemporary art from the bank’s
collection, international exhibitions, and cultural programs. The ground
floor includes the Café LePopulaire. The former Prinzessinnengarten now
forms the eastern part of Bebelplatz.
Construction History and Architects
The palace originated from two
separate residential buildings erected in 1730 on Oberwallstraße (along
the former Berlin fortress moat) for General von Becheffer and Finance
Minister Samuel von Cocceji. In 1733, court architect Friedrich Wilhelm
Diterichs (also spelled Dieterichs) unified them into a single cohesive
structure by inserting a central projection (Mittelrisalit). This
created a narrow, elongated palace oriented perpendicular to Unter den
Linden, in the elegant Friderizianisches Rokoko (Prussian Rococo)
style—characterized by fluid curves, ornate stucco, and French-inspired
symmetry adapted to Prussian tastes.
A major extension occurred in
1810–1811 under King Frederick William III, who commissioned court
architect Heinrich Gentz to add a representative Kopfbau (head building
or pavilion) projecting forward to align with the Unter den Linden
street frontage, between the opera house and the neighboring
Kronprinzenpalais. This addition shifted the building's primary
orientation toward the boulevard and introduced Neoclassical elements
(restrained proportions, classical cornices, and balanced facades). Karl
Friedrich Schinkel contributed the elegant Schwibbogen—an arched
connecting bridge or gangway linking the two palaces—and may have
influenced the front-building design (an earlier 1809 Schinkel proposal
was scaled back for cost reasons). The palace served as the residence
for the Prussian princesses until the monarchy's end in 1918.
Later
ownership passed through the Hohenzollerns (acquired by Margrave
Friedrich Heinrich von Brandenburg-Schwedt in 1755), and it briefly
housed the Schinkel Museum in the 1930s before wartime destruction.
Exterior Architecture: Layout, Facades, and Stylistic Features
The palace's footprint is narrow and elongated, originally running
perpendicular (transverse) to Unter den Linden before the 1811 extension
reoriented its main presence toward the boulevard. This creates a
distinctive urban form: a long rear wing along Oberwallstraße merging
into a more prominent head building on the Linden front.
Oberwallstraße Facade (1733 Rococo Core): This side retains the
strongest original character. Diterichs unified the two houses with a
symmetrical design featuring a central risalit (projecting pavilion)
accented by four Ionic pilasters, an attic storey (Attika), a balcony,
and a prominent staircase protrusion (Treppenvorbau). The roof is a
classic mansard (curved or broken) form typical of the era. Ornate
details include a Wappenkartusche (coat-of-arms cartouche) of the House
of Brandenburg-Schwedt on the attic. Light-colored stone and stucco
create a refined, elegant Prussian Baroque-Rococo effect with pilasters
emphasizing verticality and symmetry.
Unter den Linden Facade
(1810–1811 Neoclassical Head Building): Gentz's addition presents a more
restrained, classical street front integrated into the Forum
Fridericianum's orderly boulevard architecture. It features large
rectangular windows across multiple storeys, rusticated bases, prominent
cornices, balustrades, and simplified pediments or entablatures. The
overall effect is harmonious and symmetrical, using light stone to blend
seamlessly with neighboring buildings while projecting royal dignity.
Dormer windows punctuate the roofline in the reconstructed form.
The building's materials are primarily light-colored stone and stucco,
with wrought-iron elements (including a preserved 18th-century Rococo
railing from the demolished Schloss Buch, also designed by Diterichs,
now in the staircase). A Baroque garden once bordered the moat but was
reshaped over time and now forms a simplified public green space on
Bebelplatz.
Interior Architecture: Original vs. Modern
Original interiors (18th–19th century) featured typical Rococo salons
and state apartments with ornate stucco ceilings and walls, enfilade
layouts for formal processions, and decorative paintings (some
documented in historical archives). These suited its role as a
princesses' residence but were largely lost to wartime damage.
Post-WWII, the palace was bombed (only outer walls survived) and fully
demolished in 1960–1962 due to weathering. Architect Richard Paulick (a
Bauhaus-trained GDR designer) rebuilt it in 1962–1964 as the Operncafé,
faithfully restoring the historic facades using pre-war measurements and
gypsum molds while inserting a modernist concrete core with open,
functional spaces.
The current interior (redesigned 2014–2018 by
Berlin firm Kuehn Malvezzi for Deutsche Bank's PalaisPopulaire arts
center) deliberately exposes Paulick's precast concrete structure for a
stark, contemporary contrast: polished gray floors, white walls, exposed
beams and ceilings, and minimalist exhibition spaces (about 900 m²).
This "anti-interior design" approach highlights the building's layered
history without historicist pastiche. A preserved Rococo wrought-iron
balustrade in the staircase provides a rare original accent.
Ground-floor areas include a café with modern fittings.
Significance and Current State
The Prinzessinnenpalais embodies
Berlin's architectural palimpsest: Prussian royal elegance, wartime
destruction, GDR modernist reconstruction, and post-reunification
cultural repurposing. Its protected status as a Baudenkmal preserves the
facades in their 1733/1811 configuration, while the interior's raw
concrete serves as a canvas for contemporary art, concerts, and events.
This juxtaposition—Baroque/Rococo-Neoclassical shell over a 1960s
concrete skeleton—makes it a subtle yet powerful commentary on Berlin's
resilience and evolving identity.