Pfaueninsel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Pfaueninsel (Eng: Peacock Island) is an island situated in the Havel river near the Berlin Wannsee. The island is a popular holiday destination.
Until 1689 the glassworks of the glass-maker Johannes Kunckel stood on the island. At the time the island was called 'Kaninchenwerder' (Rabbit Isle). East of the island lies a smaller island named Schwanenwerder (Swan Isle).
In 1793 the then Prussian king Frederick William II acquired the island for the Hohenzollern dynasty and built a menagerie and a zoo there, in which peacocks were also housed. At the end of the 18th century he commissioned the building of the castle on the Pfaueninsel for Gräfin Wilhemine von Lichtenau.
The Palmenhaus (House of Palms) caught fire for unknown reasons in 1880 and burnt to the ground. It was suggested that the fire was due to a stray spark from the chimney, as the Palmenhaus had been built out of wood. It was not rebuilt, but stone columns trace the outline of the building.
In the post-war period the Pfaueninsel belonged to the western part of Berlin in the Zehlendorf district, what is now the district of Steglitz-Zehlendorf. The island had largely retained its intended character as an idyll of nature: in addition to several free-ranging peacocks, other native and exotic birds can be found in captivity, complemented by a rich variety of flora. The entire island is designated as a nature reserve and since 1990 has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the castles and parks of Potsdam-Sanssouci and Berlin-Glienicke.
[edit] External links
- Extensive description with numerous pictures of the Palmenhaus and the island's dairy farm (German)
- Panorama shots of the Pfaueninsel
| Parks in Berlin | ||
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Britzer Garten | Botanical Garden | Erholungspark Marzahn | Ernst-Thälmann-Park | Pfaueninsel | Tiergarten | Treptower Park | Viktoriapark | Volkspark Mariendorf | edit |
