Stern Hunting Lodge

From 1724 onwards, Frederick William I established a new hunting ground near the former Potsdam City Palace, designed as a star-shaped layout for the then-fashionable par force hunting to satisfy his passion for hunting. Directly adjacent to this star-shaped layout, he had the hunting lodge and other buildings constructed between 1730 and 1732 in the style of a Dutch townhouse. The hunting lodge is the only new palace built for the Prussian king and is now the oldest palace in Potsdam. This building also reflects the Soldier King's affinity for his Dutch neighbors, as the lodge is built in the same brick gable style as the Dutch Quarter and the Dutch Establishment in the New Garden.

Special features of the castle include the wood-paneled hall with oil paintings embedded in the paneling, depicting Frederick William I at various hunting events, and the king's bedchamber, a wooden, greenish-painted built-in wall with a deep bed alcove in the style of a ship's berth, as found in Frisian fishermen's and sailors' houses. In the former sheepfold behind the castellan's house, a new panel exhibition on the building complex at Stern is also on display, tracing its history from the development of the hunting grounds by the Soldier King to the restoration of the hunting lodge in the 1980s. 

The basic layout of the star-shaped pathways has been preserved to this day. Access is via Großbeerenstraße heading out of town (signposted). Admission to the castle, the exhibition, and the themed tour in the Castellan's House garden is free. Donations to support the volunteer work of the Friends of the Castle Association are gratefully accepted.

Dates for guided tours and events can be found via the Friends of Stern-Parforceheide Hunting Lodge Association.