Hey all, today I'm going to take you on a little summer adventure to a secret spot in Berlin.
The fairy tale like- Peacock Island!
Here is a beautiful hidden away spot which feels like stepping into a children's story book.
Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island) is an island of 67 hectares in the River Havel situated in Berlin- Wannsee, in southwestern Berlin, near the border with Potsdamm and Brandenburg.
To get there you have to take a short trip on a tiny ferry which only takes about 2 minutes to cross the river and get you to your destination.
This pretty little island has a long and interesting history. It was first settled on thousands of years ago. Ancient artefacts like bangles and bracelets from the Iron Age have been excavated on the site, proving that it was inhabited 2,500 years ago.
It was famously the home of Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia in the seventeenth century. During his time on the island he set up a glass works. Glass maker Johannes Kunckel began to conduct experiments there making pure and coloured glass.
However Kunckel found himself out of work when his employer died and the foundry burnt down, leading him to depart to Sweden to seek alternative patronage.
The island was forgotten for 100 years, until a hedonistic young royal, Friedrich Wilhelm II, King of Prussia discovered it. As a young man he had enjoyed using the pretty island as a secret rendezvous for illicit meetings with his lover Wilhelmine Enke.
Between 1794 and 1797, Friedrich Wilhelm II had a little summer palace built on the island. Designed in the popular romantic style of the day, it has a fairytale like appearance with its two white towers and iron bridge.
The construction is a marvel of illusion. The whole exterior is actually made of wood and painted to resemble marble.
The pretty building is a prominent feature of the island, set in a clearing at the end of the island overlooking the water, the stark white facade in bright contrast to the lush greenery surrounding it.
Frederick William's successor, Frederick William III, turned the island into a model farm and in 1821–1834 had the island redesigned and created a menagerie modeled on the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris which boasted a huge collection of exotic animals including monkeys, lions. kangeroos and alligators.
At it's peak, the menagerie housed over 900 animals and over 100 species. Frederick William III opened it to the public and it proved to be a very popular attraction for the people of Berlin and special trains to the island were often overcrowded. It was so overrun with visitors that in 1821 the public were limited to only visit 3 days a week.
The entire island is now designated as a nature reserve and since 1990 has been an UNESCO World Heritage Site as a protected flora and fauna habitat.
Today it is home to mainly a group of very boastful free roaming peacocks who spend their time strutting the lawns and displaying their plumage, but is also home to a wealth of wild life from cormorants to woodpeckers and many frogs.
It remains popular due to it's idyllic fairytale-like appearance and tranquil atmosphere which makes it a perfect destination for a romantic daytime stroll, admiring the beautiful plants and flowers in these immaculately tended grounds.
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