The Silver Vault
Tableware for Royal Dining and Opulent Snuffboxes in Frederick the Great's New Wing
Upper floor of the Old Palace closed
Due to remodelling work, the upper floor of the Old Palace with "The Silver Vault" and the permanent exhibition "The Prussian Royal House" is closed until further notice.
The service information on this page is therefore not up to date. We ask for your understanding.
An exceptional presentation at Charlottenburg Palace displays rare pieces from the Hohenzollern silver collection, and Frederick the Great’s renowned snuffboxes. Together with the royal apartments and their art treasures, nearly 600 precious objects offer insights into additional facets of Prussian court culture, while allowing visitors to enter the glittering world of the royal household.
The Silver Vault
The selection of historical tableware made of gold, silver, and porcelain, unrivaled in its extent and cultural-historical importance, was formerly kept in the Silver Vault.
The new exhibit presents the tableware both as finely set table arrangements or shown on decorative buffets. Around one hundred royal dinner services have been preserved, some in their entirety, delighting visitors with their richness of color and form. The composition and designs of the services reflect the prevailing taste, the particular culinary preferences, and the ceremonial customs of the courtly table between the periods of the Baroque and Historicism.
Frederick the Great’s Snuffboxes
Frederick the Great’s snuffboxes, made of semi-precious stones, mounted in gold, and set with diamonds, represent valuable items of an entirely different kind. The king, who otherwise shunned the court’s traditional luxury, owned an exquisite collection of valuable snuffboxes, which he always liked to have close at hand. Eight of these very beautifully designed precious objects are on display in the permanent exhibition, The Silver Vault.
Permanent exhibition
Address
Charlottenburg Palace – Old Palace
Spandauer Damm 10-22
14059 Berlin
How to get there
Public Transportation
Stop "Schloss Charlottenburg (Berlin)"
vbb-online | Timetable information »
Parking
Paid parking spaces for cars and buses.
Opening Hours
Summer Season | April to October
Monday | closed |
---|---|
Tuesday - Sunday: | 10:00 - 17:30 |
Last admission: 30 minutes before closing
On public holidays, weekend opening hours apply unless otherwise stated.
Admission Prices
12 EUR / reduced rate 8 EUR (included in the palace entrance)
Contact
Visitor's Center at the Historic Windmill in Sanssouci Park
An der Orangerie 1
14469 Potsdam
(Closed Mondays)
Visitor's Center at the New Palace in Sanssouci Park
Am Neuen Palais 3
14469 Potsdam
(Closed Tuedays)
info@spsg.de
Phone: +49 (0) 331.96 94-200
To the info page of the venue
Photo Credits
header:
Gilded tureen of Frederick William I, 1731, SPSG
© Lendler Ausstellungsarchitektur / Photo & Design
gallery:
Silver table service commissioned by Frederick II, 1746/1747, SPSG (purchased thanks to the generous support of the Stiftung Deutsche Klassenlotterie) and on loan from the Stichting Huis Doorn)
© Lendler Ausstellungsarchitektur / Photo & Design
Centrepiece designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, ca. 1820, on loan from the Stichting Huis Doorn
© Lendler Ausstellungsarchitektur / Photo & Design
Pieces from a KPM-service commissioned by Frederick II for his palace in Breslau (now Wroclaw), 1767, SPSG
© SPSG / Photo: Wolfgang Pfauder
Snuff box of Frederick II, ca. 1770, on loan from SKH Georg Friedrich Prinz von Preußen
© SPSG / Photo: Daniel Lindner
Snuff box of Frederick II, ca. 1770, on loan from SKH Georg Friedrich Prinz von Preußen
© SPSG / Photo: Jörg P. Anders