News
Pfaueninsel Palace - Between reconstruction and conservation
The comprehensive restoration of the palace on the Pfaueninsel has been completed - a project of exceptional duration, complexity and scientific depth. Over a period of seven years, the summer palace, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was thoroughly examined, repaired and conserved.
The University of Applied Sciences Potsdam was involved in the planning, the scientific analysis and during the practical restoration. The building, which is part of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG), was erected between 1794 and 1795 by the court carpenter Johann Gottlob Brendel for the Prussian King Frederick William II as a half-timbered building with an early classicist interior. While the simple wooden panelling on the outside had to be repeatedly renewed, the high-quality craftsmanship and artistic wall and mobile furnishings from the time of construction were preserved on the inside.
In autumn 2017, an interdisciplinary team began the planning, complete renovation and restoration of the palace. Extensive, massive work on the building structure and the building envelope contrasted with the highly sensitive interiors with textile and paper wallpaper, boiseries, panelled parquet flooring, wall and ceiling paintings. The seven-year project was characterised by technical complexity, high intensity, a wealth of detail and an increase in knowledge. This is being taken as an opportunity to discuss the results at the 18th Conservation Sciences Colloquium in Berlin/Brandenburg and to make them available to a wide audience with the conference proceedings The colloquium will take place on 27 and 28 March at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, including an excursion to the palace.
It will report on new findings in building research, innovative action planning and reconstruction of the building envelope, through to diverse methods of analysing and restoring the interior with surprising results from art, restoration and natural science research.
Role of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam
On the part of the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Raue, Professor of Conservation and Restoration - Wall Painting and Dean of the Department of CITY | BUILDING | CULTURE at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, and his partner Dipl.-Rest. Olaf Schwieger as specialist planners for the restoration work in the project. Prof. Dr. Laue, Professor of Natural Sciences, was involved in the project by carrying out non-destructive analyses using mobile X-ray fluorescence on paint finishes inside the palace. The university's involvement in the project was characterised by several final restoration projects, for example on the wooden interior of the castle. During the restoration work, several alumni of the university, who now work as independent restorers, were also involved in specialised restoration work.
Conservation Sciences Colloquium in Berlin/Brandenburg
The Conservation Sciences Colloquium in Berlin/Brandenburg, which takes place annually, is scientifically managed by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG), the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam - Conservation and Restoration degree programme, the Brandenburg State Office for the Preservation of Monuments, the State Archaeological Museum and the Rathgen Research Laboratory of the National Museums in Berlin - Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. This year, the Berlin State Monuments Office is also a partner of the colloquium.
Further information on the restoration of Pfaueninsel Palace
