The immaculately-looking white neoclassical palace on the Spreeweg, just off the Tiergarten’s northwestern corner is the official residence of the German President. The palace was erected in 1786 as a private residence for Friedrich the Great’s youngest brother Prince Ferdinand of Prussia as three-winged palace ideally situated on the Tiergarten hunting grounds. It was designed by architect Philipp Daniel Boumann. Over the centuries it became a school under Kaiser Wilhelm II (1888 – 1918) – the last German Kaiser – and a Reich guesthouse in 1939. The round arched windows of the side wings were converted from the original side entrances. The present building is the 1959 reconstructed version and only one room the Oval Saal (Oval Office) from Carl Gotthard Langhans is original. The President’s offices are located in the new building, the Bundespräsidialamt, south of the Palace, a contrasting glass and black granite edifice under heavy guard.
References:The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.
Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.