Ordenspalais

Ordenspalais, then Palais Prince Ferdinand of Prussia, engraving by Johann Georg Rosenberg, about 1780

TheOrdenspalais( "Palace of theOrder [of Saint John]") was a building on the northern corner ofWilhelmplatzwithWilhelmstraßeinBerlin(now inBerlin-Mitte).

History

Erection of the building at Wilhelmplatz No. 7/8 began in 1737 as the residence of thePrussianMajor General Karl Ludwig, Count ofWaldburg-Capustigall,who died the next year. By command of KingFrederick William I of Prussia,the palace was finished by theOrder of Saint John(theJohanniterorden) according to plans by Carl Friedrich Richter, who also designed the neighbouringPalais Schulenburg(later the GermanReich Chancellery). From 1738, the palace was the principal residence of theHerrenmeister( "Master of the Knights" ), chief of the Order, and housed the Berlin legation of the Order. The palace later was renamed forPrince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia,who wasHerrenmeisterfrom 1763 to 1811.

TheOrdenspalaisin 1936

Ruins of theOrdenspalaisin March 1945

The Kingdom of Prussia took over the building in 1811, upon the dissolution of the Order by a government desperate for funds in the midst of theNapoleonic Wars,and the building thereafter housed several governmental agencies beforePrince Charles of Prussiamade it his residence in 1829. He had the palace remodeled in aNeoclassicalstyle according to plans byKarl Friedrich Schinkel,with an annex built byFriedrich August Stüler.In 1853, the building, now numbered Wilhelmplatz No. 8/9, saw the solemn restoration of theJohanniterordenand Prince Charles's installation as the newHerrenmeister.After his death in 1883, the palace remained the residence of Prince Charles's descendantsPrinces Frederick CharlesandFriedrich Leopold of Prussia.

AfterWorld War Iand the fall of thePrussian monarchy,the palace became the subject of a lengthy lawsuit between theHouse of Hohenzollernand theFree State of Prussia.The palace remained empty until theGerman governmentmade it the offices of the united press department of theReichsregierungand theForeign Office,which held daily press conferences here. In March 1933, the building became the headquarters of theReich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propagandaled byJoseph Goebbels.During his tenure, the building was again enlarged, with Stüler's annex extended and rebuilt until 1940.

TheOrdenspalaisitself was destroyed in the last months ofWorld War II.The annex, renumbered Wilhelmstraße No. 49, survived and from 1947 was the seat of the East GermanNational Frontorganization. Since 1999, the building has held the main offices of the GermanFederal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.