A large formal garden surrounded by woodland was added behind the palace, including a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a pavilion.

The original palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg in what was then the village of Lietzow.

In the following years, the Orangery was built on the west of the palace and the central area was extended with a large domed tower and a larger vestibule.

On top of the dome is a wind vane in the form of a gilded statue representing Fortuna designed by Andreas Heidt.

As the court painter of Frederick I, the Flemish artist Jan Anthonie Coxie was commissioned to paint the walls and ceilings in various rooms of the palace.

Hovering overhead, Mercury heralds the arrival of the life-giving god and Saturn ushers in the Golden Age with his scythe.

Coxie also included images of the Four Continents as well as the Four Seasons, which are familiar allusions to political power and thus affirm the greatness of Frederick I.

The building of the new wing was supervised by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, the superintendent of all the Royal Palaces, who largely followed Eosander's design.

The ground floor was intended for Frederick's wife Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern, who, preferring Schönhausen Palace however, was only an occasional visitor.

[7] Their eldest son, Frederick William IV, who reigned from 1840 to 1861, lived in the upper storey of the central palace building.

However, following the efforts of Margarete Kühn, the director of the State Palaces and Gardens, it was rebuilt to its former condition,[10] with gigantic modern ceiling paintings by Hann Trier.

Godeau's design consisted of geometric patterns, with avenues and moats, which separated the garden from its natural surroundings.

[11] In 1788, Frederick William II arranged for the building of the Belvedere, designed by Carl Gotthard Langhans, in the grounds beyond the Carp Pond.