A masterpiece of Renaissance architecture

With the development of firearms, medieval castles became less important. For this reason Spandau castle was made into a fortress in the 16th century. The fortress, built by Italian architects, was designed to provide protection for the residence city of Berlin-Cölln and to serve as a place of refuge, in times of crisis. Today, the Citadel is one of the most important and best-kept Renaissance fortresses in Europe.

The fortress is symmetrical in structure, is completely surrounded by water, and has four bastions. A bastion is an architectural feature of a fortress which seems to spring up from the wall. The four bastions bear the names Queen (Königin), King (König), Crown Prince (Kronprinz) and Brandenburg. The fortress is designed in such a way that there are no blind spots.

The battlements can be visited in summer as part of the guided tours. You can walk on the curtain walls throughout the year – enjoy the experience!