Mausoleum of Charlottenburg Palace

Mausoleum in the park of Charlottenburg Palace

The sculptural image of Queen Louise

The mausoleum in the park of the Charlottenburg Palace ( German: Mausoleum im Park des Schlosses Charlottenburg ) is the royal tomb in Berlin . Originally built in 1810 for the Queen of Prussia, Louise , wife of Frederick William III .

Queen Louise prematurely died at the age of 34, having contracted pneumonia . The widowed Frederick William III instructed the architect Heinrich Gentz ​​to immediately begin work on the construction of the tomb in the park of the Charlottenburg Palace . In addition to the king, Karl Friedrich Schinkel took part in the work on the project. Construction progressed rapidly and was completed in five months by using unused architectural elements from other structures, such as columns from the palace in Oranienburg or steps from the Sanssouci park. After the reburial of Louise’s remains from a temporary shelter in the Berlin Cathedral at a new location in Charlottenburg, the mausoleum soon became a popular veneration for the deceased queen. The sculptural tombstone, made for Queen Louise by Christian Daniel Rauch , is a recognized masterpiece of the Berlin School of Sculpture.

After the death of Frederick William III in 1840, the building of the mausoleum was expanded to accommodate a coffin with the remains of the king. The next reconstruction of the mausoleum with an additional increase in its area was carried out under the burial in it of marble sarcophagi of William I and his wife Augusta , created by Erdman Enke .

Marble sarcophagi are cenotaphs . The remains themselves are housed in metal coffins in a crypt under the main room. At the request of King Frederick William IV , recorded in the will, his heart was buried at the feet of his parents, Louise and Frederick William III. Friedrich Wilhelm himself is buried with his wife in Potsdam Friedenskirche . The crypt also contains a zinc coffin with the remains of Prince Albrecht of Prussia , the youngest son of Frederick William III and Louise. The second wife of Frederick William III, Princess Lignitskaya Augusta, was also buried there. Thus, only six were buried in the mausoleum.

To the 200th anniversary of the death of Queen Louise in 2010, additional restoration work was carried out in the mausoleum, after which visitors were given access.