Parks & Palaces

Bellevue Palace

Palace Bellevue - Official residence of the German Federal President

Bellevue palace in the neoclassical style is the official residence of the incumbent Federal President.

Bellevue Palace in Berlin, a neoclassical masterpiece, has served as the official residence of the German Federal President since 1994 and boasts an impressive history, ranging from royal country estates to becoming an important political center.

Understandably, the building is closed to the public, but once a year you have the chance to take a look behind the scenes. The Day of the Open Palace offers the opportunity to meet the Federal President, experience him on stage and explore his official residence. Read more about the interesting history of Bellvue Palace below.

Palace Bellevue in Berlin

Location & Sights nearby

Bellevue palace is located in the centre of the city, surrounded by a beautiful park, the Tiergarten, not far from the Victory Column, the Bundestag and the Brandenburg Gate, directly on the banks of the river Spree. Even if you are not allowed to enter, it is still worth taking a look. A detour to the English Garden is always worthwhile!

Brief history of the Palace Bellevue

Bellevue palace is the first official residence of the German Federal President and looks back on an ancient history.
Prince Ferdinand of Prussia had the palace built in 1785. It served as a royal country seat and was the first classicist building in Prussia. The palace was used as a residence, it did not serve representative purposes. The palace is surrounded by a beautiful park, which already then was one of the most beautiful gardens in Prussia. Many guests visited the prince, such as Napoleon, the Humboldt brothers, Wilhelm and Alexander and Friedrich Schiller. Bellevue Palace was used by August Ferdinand of Prussia as a royal pleasure palace and country estate until his death in 1813.

Afterwards his son August of Prussia lived in the palace. Friedrich Wilhelm IV inherited it in 1843 and in 1844 he built the first museum for contemporary art in a wing on the ground floor as the "forerunner" of the National Gallery. From 1865 to 1915 it was used again by the court. Bellevue Palace was not only redesigned once, from a pleasure palace to the highest army command during the First World War. In 1928 the palace passed from the Hohenzollern to Prussia. There were changing exhibitions and after the National Socialists came to power it was used as a guesthouse and for propaganda purposes.

Unfortunately it was almost in ruins in April 1941. Also here the endless destruction of the Second World War took place. The reconstruction began in the year 1955 to 1959.

In 1957, still during the construction phase, the German Bundestag designated the palace as the second office and residence of the Federal President. The first residence was the Villa Hammerschmidt in Bonn. This resulted in the final interior design and the Langhanssaal was restored to its classicist style. A large hall for events and receptions was built and in 1986/87 the palace was given an open entrance hall which extends to the garden terrace. In 1991 it was decided to move from Bonn to Berlin and the parliaments packed their suitcases. Richard von Weizsäcker, the then Federal President, decided in January 1994 to move the first office of the head of state from Bonn to Berlin. The only Federal President to move into private quarters in the palace was Roman Herzog.
Since Johannes Rau's term of office, he has lived in a service villa in southwest Berlin.

From May 2004 to December 2005, the presidential apartment in the palace was converted into working rooms and renovated. There are 15 representative rooms in Bellevue palace.
Since March 2017, Bellevue Palace has been the official residence of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmüller.

If the Federal President is in Germany, the standard is hoisted at Schloss Bellevue. It is caught when the Federal President is in his Bonn office, in a guesthouse in the federal states or abroad. Then the standard is caught up when leaving the Berlin city area and set anew on re-arrival.