ITB Berlin News 2019 - Day 2 Edition

© Thomas Keller
HOSPITALITY / RESTAURANTS / BARS
WHERE
TO GO
IN
Berlin
CLUBS / EVENTS / SHOPPING / CULTURE
When romanticism took Berlin by storm
In the early 19 th century, Berlin became home to the romanticism movement. The southwest
district of Zehlendorf, just facing the city of Potsdam, turned into Berlin most romantic
corner with a string of castles and gardens inspired by Rome and Ancient Egypt.
Peacock Island Castle
Lake Wannsee is a very popular destination for locals.
It has one of the biggest inland beaches in Europe.
In summer, the beach is crowded along its 3.5 km of
white sand while sail boats contribute to the holiday
atmosphere of the place. Boats are plentiful to do
a Wannsee tour up to Glienicke. Many companies
organise a 7-Lakes Tour which
connects Wannsee to Potsdam.
It is possible however to go out at
Nikolskoe and transfer to a small
ferry to reach Peacock Island. The
place looks to come out of a fairy
tale book. In 1794, Prussian King
Friedrich Wilhelm II commissioned
carpenter Johann Gottlieb Brendel
for a castle and dependences on a
small islandl. The King gave this summer residence
to his mistress, Countess Wilhelmine von Lichtenau.
A fake while gothic and renaissance ruin was
constructed in the midst of a large meadow
surrounded by forests. A cow farm was built in the
style of a gothic monastery, while between 1820 and
1830 an aviary as well as a Palm Tree Conservatory
GLIENICKE CASTLE AND
GARDENS REPRESENT
THE PERFECT VISION OF
ROMANTICISM
were added. Gardens were later redesigned in the
romanticism style by gardener Peter Joseph Lenné. To
add a further touch of magic to the place, free range
peacocks just stroll around the area, shouting and
totally indifferent to visitors!
Taking back the ferry to Nikolskoe,
there is a possibility to catch again
a boat to further sail to Glienicke, the
quintessence of romanticism.
At the extreme tip of Berlin, a few
meters away from Potsdam, the famous
architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel built
in 1826 for Prince Carl of Prussia a
castle similar to a Roman mansion.
A UNESCO World Heritage today,
Glienicke castle and gardens represent the perfect
vision of romanticism with a fountain surrounded by
golden lions, Egyptian sphinxes, fake Greek columns
and Roman style statues in the gardens. Under
sunshine, visitors get the feeling to be lost along the
Mediterranean Sea with the waves of the Havel River
shining under the light.
ITB BERLIN NEWS • Thursday 7 th March 2019