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 Château du Lude is one of the many great châteaux of the Loire Valley in France. Le Lude is the most northerly château of the Loire Valley and one of the last important historic castles in France, still inhabited by the same family for the last 260 years. The château is testimony to four centuries of French architecture, as a stronghold transformed into an elegant house during the Renaissance and the 18th century. The monument is located in the valley of Le Loir. Its gardens have evolved throughout the centuries.