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TheOrdenspalais ("Palace of theOrder [of Saint John]") was a building on the northern corner ofWilhelmplatz withWilhelmstraße inBerlin (now inBerlin-Mitte).
Erection of the building at Wilhelmplatz No. 7/8 began in 1737 as the residence of thePrussian Major General Karl Ludwig, Count ofWaldburg-Capustigall, who died the next year. By command of KingFrederick William I of Prussia, the palace was finished by theOrder of Saint John (theJohanniterorden) according to plans by Carl Friedrich Richter, who also designed the neighbouringPalais Schulenburg (later the GermanReich Chancellery). From 1738, the palace was the principal residence of theHerrenmeister ("Master of the Knights"), chief of the Order, and housed the Berlin legation of the Order. The palace later was renamed forPrince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, who wasHerrenmeister from 1763 to 1811.
The Kingdom of Prussia took over the building in 1811, upon the dissolution of the Order by a government desperate for funds in the midst of theNapoleonic Wars, and the building thereafter housed several governmental agencies beforePrince Charles of Prussia made it his residence[1] in 1829. He had the palace remodeled in aNeoclassical style according to plans byKarl Friedrich Schinkel, with an annex built byFriedrich August Stüler. In 1853, the building, now numbered Wilhelmplatz No. 8/9, saw the solemn restoration of theJohanniterorden and Prince Charles's installation as the newHerrenmeister. After his death in 1883, the palace remained the residence of Prince Charles's descendantsPrinces Frederick Charles andFriedrich Leopold of Prussia.
AfterWorld War I and the fall of thePrussian monarchy, the palace became the subject of a lengthy lawsuit between theHouse of Hohenzollern and theFree State of Prussia. The palace remained empty until theGerman government made it the offices of the united press department of theReichsregierung and theForeign Office, which held daily press conferences here. In March 1933,[citation needed] the building became the headquarters of theReich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda led byJoseph Goebbels. During his tenure, the building was again enlarged,[2] with Stüler's annex extended and rebuilt until 1940.
TheOrdenspalais itself was destroyed in the last months ofWorld War II. The annex, renumbered Wilhelmstraße No. 49, survived and from 1947 was the seat of the East GermanNational Front organization. Since 1999, the building has held the main offices of the GermanFederal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
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52°30′45″N13°23′01″E / 52.51250°N 13.38361°E /52.51250; 13.38361
