Established in 1995, the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG) manages more than 30 museum palaces and numerous parks in Brandenburg and Berlin, which attract more than 3.5 million visitors from Germany and abroad every year. These include the Sanssouci and Cecilienhof palaces in Potsdam, the New Palace in Berlin, and Charlottenburg and Schönhausen palaces with their surrounding parks.
Over five centuries, outstanding artists of their time – including the influential architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel – created a fascinating ensemble of palaces and gardens on behalf of the Brandenburg-Prussian ruling family. In the 19th century, the renowned garden designer Peter Joseph Lenné created a garden landscape stretching from Sanssouci to Peacock Island in Berlin, which brings art, culture, and architectural history to life.
In 1990, UNESCO added these palaces and parks in Potsdam and Berlin to its World Heritage List as a unique cultural site of universal value.
Today, around 580 people work for the SPSG and around 540 for Fridericus Servicegesellschaft der Preußischen Schlösser und Gärten mbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the SPSG. Together, they all contribute to ensuring that these unique palaces, works of art, and gardens are preserved, researched, made accessible to the public, and communicated.
The SPSG makes this historic synthesis of art accessible to the public and promotes democratic values and an open, diverse society. Its work is supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, the State of Brandenburg, the State of Berlin, and private donations.