Palais Prinz Heinrich

The Prince Henry's Palace is a former princely palace in Berlin at Unter den Linden number 6. Today it is the main building of Humboldt University.

The building was constructed starting in 1748/49 for the younger brother of Prussian King Frederick II, Prince Henry of Prussia. The plans for the late Baroque building came from Johann Boumann, who is said to have based them on initial designs by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, who was originally supposed to build a residence for Frederick II at this location, as part of a larger building ensemble, the so-called Forum Fridericianum. Construction management was initially taken over by Boumann himself, later by Carl Ludwig Hildebrandt. After an interruption of construction work during the Seven Years' War, the building was finally completed in 1766.

When Berlin University was founded in 1809, the then Prussian King Frederick William III dedicated the building to the new university. Between 1836 and 1846 and in 1892, the interior of the palace was adapted to the needs of the university. Between 1913 and 1920, Berlin city architect Ludwig Hoffmann extended the building by lengthening the two side wings to the north and adding side extensions. The U-shape became the current H-shape, with no external differences visible.

During the Second World War, large parts of the building were destroyed, mainly during bombing raids between November 24, 1943, and July 19, 1944. Teaching resumed in 1945, initially in some provisionally repaired rooms in the west wing. Subsequently, the building was rebuilt in two construction phases according to historical models: the central section from 1947 to 1954, and the east wing, where the Audimax is now located, from 1958 to 1962. Only a few parts of the building, such as a staircase in the eastern head building, remained in their original state. The building has been a listed monument since 1975.