Peacock Island is perfect for a romantic day out.Peacock Island
Pfaueninsel, or ‘Peacock Island’, and its palace are romantic gems on the River Havel. Close to Potsdam, the island houses an idyllic white castle and lush sprawling parklands, with roaming peacocks. The River Havel island was settled thousands of years ago and is rich with history stretching back to the 17th century. Between 1794 and 1797, Friedrich Wilhelm II had a little summer palace built on the island. Designed as a ruin in the popular Romantic style of the day, the palace was supposed to evoke a “derelict rural Roman villa”. The exterior resembles white marble, though that too belongs to the illusion – the walls are actually painted wood. The little white palace, set in a prominent clearing at the end of the island, also created a distinctive landmark – an eye-catching feature for one of the vistas from the New Garden in Potsdam. Even today, visitors and locals alike are charmed by the view of the palace’s two flanking white towers joined by a cast iron bridge set against the backdrop of trees.
Countess Wilhelmine von Lichtenau, Friedrich Wilhelm II’s mistress, designed the interior to her personal taste. Rather than following a particular style, she chose selected pieces of outstanding quality. After her death, the palace was little used by the Prussian rulers. Queen Louise, the wife of Friedrich Wilhelm III, complained about the thin walls, and preferred the comforts of Paretz Palace on a rural estate to the west of Berlin. Although many buildings in Berlin were damaged during the Second World War, the little palace on Peacock Island survived unscathed and so still remains in its original form today.
Peacock Island is now under the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg. Together with Glienicke Palace and the Potsdam palace landscape, the island with its little palace is inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage.
The tranquil island has many stunning walks, and as well as the famous peacocks, it is also home to a range of wildlife.
