Situated on an island in the middle of the Schweriner See lake, Schwerin Palace is the opulent former home of the dukes and grand dukes of Mecklenburg. It’s regarded as one of the most important works of romantic Historicism and has been nicknamed the 'Neuschwanstein of the North”. Schwerin Palace has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and today serves as the seat of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament.
While the earliest records of a castle at this location date to 973 AD, much of the current Schwerin Palace was constructed during the mid-19th century as a collaboration between the renowned architects Gottfried Semper, Friedrich August Stüler, Georg Adolf Demmler and Ernst Friedrich Zwirner. It boasts 635 separate rooms, with elegant balustrades, columns and ornamental figures scattered throughout.
Part of the castle is open as the Schwerin Castle Museum for visitors wanting to wander through its luxuriously appointed reception rooms, drawing rooms and living rooms that are decorated with period furnishings, sculptures and artworks. Among its highlights are the illustrious throne room, the extensive weaponry and porcelain collections, as well as the newly opened silver chamber.
Schwerin Castle is surrounded by one of the most important baroque gardens in Northern Germany and includes a charming orangery made of cast iron and glass, as well as seasonal flower beds and ornate sculptures. It was originally designed as a French pleasure garden but later transformed with elements of English landscape design along its lake shore and Italian architecture in its terraces.