Frederick William III had Prussia's "star architect" Karl Friedrich Schinkel build him the two-storey summer house in the immediate vicinity of Charlottenburg Palace. After the king's death in 1840, the pavilion was no longer occupied. Parts of the house library were temporarily housed here; in 1938 it became a museum. In 1943 the building burned down to the masonry; most of the furnishings were also destroyed. The reconstruction in 1957-60 was carried out according to original plans. In 1970 the reconstruction of the decorative interior was largely completed and the museum was open to visitors again.
For more than 30 years, the New Pavilion presented masterpieces of the Schinkel period: Romantic and Biedermeier paintings by Caspar David Friedrich, Carl Blechen, Eduard Gaertner and Karl Friedrich Schinkel, as well as furniture, sculptures, porcelain and Berlin ironwork from the early 19th century. The new permanent exhibition, which will be open to the public from 4 December, follows on from this.
On the ground floor, the spatial art of the Schinkel period can be experienced again in three rooms. Part of the interior from the time of construction has been preserved, and lost works of art will be replaced by comparable objects. Thanks to a donation from the Friends of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens, it was possible to purchase a Schinkel chair. The remaining exhibition rooms on the ground floor are devoted to various themes of early 19th century art: Romantic reception of the Middle Ages, Berlin veduta painting and portrait art in painting and sculpture.
On the upper floor, the new permanent exhibition focuses increasingly on the work of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The exhibition highlights his outstanding achievements in architecture and painting as well as his multifaceted and highly influential design work, including iron casting and furniture. A second focus is a presentation of major works of painting from the early 19th century. At last they are on public display again, the "Morning in the Giant Mountains" and the "Harbour" by Caspar David Friedrich, Eduard Gaertner's views of Berlin, Moscow and Paris and the "Ruins on the Gulf of Naples" by Carl Blechen.