Paretz House and Estate

Queen Luise and her husband Crown Prince Frederick William III spent the summer months in Paretz every year in this secluded idyll set in the peaceful Havel landscape. Far removed from courtly etiquette and the pomp of the royal Prussian city of Berlin, they enjoyed a bourgeois family life here which – at a time of major upheaval – was to serve as a model for an entire generation.

Theodor Fontane was obviously very fond of the village of Paretz, too. It is only about 20 kilometres away from Potsdam. The house still attracts visitors to this day with its precious furniture, paintings, drawings, and especially the famous Paretz wallpapers – which Fontane describes in great detail in his Wanderungen durch die Mark Brandenburg" (“Walks through the Brandenburg Marches”).

From 1797 to 1804, Paretz House and the village were designed by David Gilly as a summer residence for Crown Prince Frederick William III and his wife Luise, and realised to high aesthetic standards. As a prime example of Prussian agriculture around 1800, it fulfilled both the desire for a royal country estate and the requirements of a functioning farming village. It also blends harmoniously into the expansive landscape of the Havel river.

Paretz is still one of the most beautiful destinations for a day out in the state of Brandenburg. A tour of the royal living quarters with their precious furniture, paintings, drawings and the famous Paretz wallpaper provides fascinating insights into the life of Luise, who is said to have been carefree and spirited by nature. The permanent exhibition in the manor house, which was newly established in April 2014, tells the fascinating history of the ensemble and its use, describing how it was restored despite having been disfigured beyond recognition for a long time.

In addition to artistically outstanding portrait busts of Queen Luise and some portraits of her close relations, the exhibits include luxurious furnishings from the former Royal Palace in Berlin, including the Queen’s gilded toilet service. In addition, a selection of seating furniture from the Belvedere on Potsdam’s Brauhausberg will be on display again for the first time since the Second World War.

In the Schlossremise (coach house), there is to be an exhibition of culturally and historically outstanding collection of precious carriages, magnificent sleighs and sedan chairs from the Prussian dynasty of the 17th and 18th centuries.