Jagdschloss Grunewald

Jagdschloss Grunewald is a former hunting lodge and art museum located in the Dahlem locality of the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough in Berlin, Germany. Situated on the southeastern shore of Grunewaldsee, it holds the distinction of being the oldest preserved castle in Berlin. Constructed in 1542 and 1543 for Joachim II Hector, the prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the structure originally bore the name Zum grunen Wald, meaning to the green forest, a designation that eventually gave the entire surrounding Grunewald area its name. The lodge assumed its current name around 1800. Today, it operates as a museum under the administration of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg, housing significant Renaissance art and historical hunting artifacts.

In the early 16th century, Elector Joachim II Hector initiated the construction of Renaissance style hunting lodges across the Margraviate of Brandenburg, including sites in Botzow and Kopernick. For the Grunewald lodge, he acquired land from the noble family von Spiel on the shore of the lake then known as Spielsee. He laid the foundation stone on March 7, 1542, and the building very likely followed plans by master builder Caspar Theiss, who drew inspiration from Saxon models in Dresden and Torgau. Following Joachim II's death, his son Johann Georg expanded the compound with two nearly square towers on the lake side and defensive walls following plans by architect Rocco Guerrini. The lodge later fell into disrepair until the Great Elector Friedrich Wilhelm ordered restorations. Between 1705 and 1708, King Frederick I of Prussia commissioned master builder Martin Grunberg to redesign the building, filling in the moat in 1709 and adding baroque elements. The Hohenzollerns used the lodge as a hunting residence until 1918. After the Hohenzollern properties were confiscated following World War I, the lodge passed to the Prussian state in 1926, opening as a museum in 1932. It survived World War II largely intact, suffering only shell damage to some artworks and the loss of seventeen paintings removed by Soviet forces. It reopened on May 16, 1949, the first Berlin art museum to resume public operations after the war.

The museum's collection centers on two primary themes: Renaissance art and courtly hunting. Its most significant holding is the largest collection of works by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop in Berlin, comprising nearly thirty paintings. This collection is supplemented by Old German and Old Netherlandish paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries, as well as broader selections of Dutch and German paintings spanning the 15th to the 19th centuries. The hunting focus is represented by historical weapons, antlers, and various artistic and craft objects depicting court hunts and hunting festivals from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. Additionally, a portrait series of Brandenburg and Prussian rulers from the 16th to the 19th centuries illustrates the evolution of portraiture from the Renaissance to Romanticism. Postwar additions to the holdings include works relocated from palaces destroyed elsewhere in Berlin.

Among the most notable works in the collection are large panels from a Passion cycle dated to 1537 and 1538, originally commissioned by Joachim II for the Berlin Collegiate Church. The elector also commissioned the series of ruler virtues, known as Exemplum panels, intended for the Berlin Palace, which are now held here. The Cranach collection, featuring works by both Lucas Cranach the Elder and his son Lucas Cranach the Younger, forms the core of the museum's art historical significance. Architecturally, the sole remaining Renaissance hall in Berlin, known as the Great Court Room, stands on the first floor, restored in 1973. A dedicated hunting gear collection has been displayed since January 29, 1977, in a former magazine building on the grounds, which historically stored court hunting equipment.

The lodge was originally constructed as a moated castle on an 8 by 21 meter platform surrounded by a water moat, with access restricted to a single wooden bridge. The initial structure comprised a two storey main block with taller three storey corner towers and an octagonal front staircase tower. The site was influenced by French Renaissance castles like Chambord and Blois, applying Renaissance decor to traditional northern European forms with large windows, bay windows, and high gables. The 1705 to 1708 baroque reconstruction by Martin Grunberg raised the roofline into a mansard hipped roof with gable dormers, which were replaced by five bat dormers in the 1820s, and the facade was painted white. The surrounding lake was lowered repeatedly over the centuries for peat cutting, dropping the water level approximately 2.80 meters below its original height. Pristine Renaissance elements survive, including lake facing bay windows on the corner wings, a carved stag relief above the entrance marking the hunting function, and a carved Zecher relief depicting a welcome drink scene.

Jagdschloss Grunewald is located at Huttenweg 100, 14193 Berlin, adjacent to Grunewaldsee. It is owned and administered by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg. The site is open seasonally: from April to October, it operates Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 to 17:30, and from November to March, it is open Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 to 16:00. Access to the interior is by guided tour only, with tours conducted in German. Admission costs 8.00 euros, with a reduced rate of 6.00 euros. The main castle building is not wheelchair accessible, although the courtyard and the hunting gear magazine are accessible with assistance. The site also features a cafe and a holiday apartment operated by an integration organization, and functions as a venue for concerts and cultural events.