Administration department
ResidenceBerlin-Mitte
Schwerin Palace
The Palais Schwerin on Molkenmarkt is a historic Baroque city palace in Berlin. The palace is located at Molkenmarkt 3, opposite the Nikolaiviertel in the Berlin district of Mitte, on the southern side of the square. It is surrounded by Molkenmarkt, Stralauer Straße, Rolandufer, and Mühlendamm.
The noble palace was probably built after the great city fire in 1690. In 1698, it was purchased by the Prussian statesman Otto von Schwerin, who had it rebuilt by Jean de Bodt, a Huguenot in Prussian service. The cartouche above the main entrance shows the Order of the Black Eagle, which Schwerin had received in 1701.
After the count's death (1705), the palace became state-Prussian property in 1765 as the Tobacco General Administration. In 1787, the tobacco monopoly fell, and in 1794, the criminal court and later also a prison moved in. The city bailiff's office was located next door. For a century, Palais Schwerin was synonymous with the "jail" par excellence, until in 1889, its functions were moved to the new police headquarters on Alexanderplatz, built by Hermann Blankenstein. Until 1910, the building served the justice administration.
In the 1920s, the Prussian state rented the palace to a furniture store.
Demolition, Reconstruction, and Use+
From 1937 to 1938, the Palais Schwerin was demolished, except for the original front facade, for the expansion of the Reichsmünze (Reich Mint). Together with the new building of the Reichsmünze by Fritz Keibel, the palace was reshaped, extended by two side buildings in Baroque style, but not (as often claimed) set back. Structurally, the building ensemble now forms a unit. On the side facing Mühlendamm, the palace received a copy of the frieze created by Johann Gottfried Schadow for the Alte Münze (Unterwasserstraße) as a decorative element.
From 1951, the building complex served as the seat of the State Art Commission of the GDR, then until the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Ministry of Culture and the Central Mint of the GDR. On July 16, 1990, the minting of West German coins began.
In 2010, the Berlin Mint and rooms for the Federal Commissioner for the Stasi Records were located in the parts of the building on the Spreeufer and Spandauer Straße.
The Palais Schwerin on Mühlendamm houses the German-French Youth Office and is listed in the Berlin Monument List.
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Source: Wikipedia · Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image: http://schloesserrundschau.de/berlin/berlin08.html
This description draws on the facts documented in the linked Wikipedia article; Wikipedia content is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Wording and editing: Mobile History.
Location: 52.5160, 13.4092