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The Palais Strousberg was a large city mansion built in Berlin, Germany for the railway magnate Bethel Henry Strousberg.〔Strousberg is frequently referred to as "The Railway King" (Der Eisenbahnkönig). See Roth, Ralf (Frankfurt): The Rise and Fall of the Railway King Henry Bethel Strousberg: Difficulties of International Railway Investments in Germany in the 1860s〕 It was designed by the architect August Orth and built between 1867–68 at No.70 Wilhelmstraße. The grandiose splendour of its accommodation and novel integration of the latest building technologies into the fabric of the building, ensured that Berliners would still find the Palais impressive decades after its construction, becoming ''the'' model of refined luxury in Berlin architecture.〔 Architektenverein zu Berlin und Vereinigung Berliner Architekten (Architectural association of Berlin and Union of Berlin architects) (): ''Berlin und seine Bauten'' (''Berlin and her buildings''), II. Band, Published by Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 1896, pp. 112–114〕 After the Strousberg family's bankruptcy in 1875, the building was rented to the embassy of Great Britain and Ireland who eventually purchased the property in 1884. Following World War II Wilhelmstraße was partitioned into the East German sector of Berlin in 1948. The Palais, which had been severely damaged during the war, was demolished in the 1950s. == A palace for a 'Railway King' == Before the purchase of No. 70 Wilhelmstrasse, Strousberg had bought No. 80 Wilhelmstrasse which he then sold on to the Prussian treasury at a profit. He bought No. 70 Wilhelmstrasse for 122,500 Taler in 1867. Designed by August Orth the palace was built for 900,000 Goldmarks, re-using materials from an older building which had served as the residence of the Prussian statesman Friedrich Carl von Savigny.〔 Orth, at the time, was the personal architect for the Strousberg family and had provided them with designs for several private building projects such as the renovations to Castle Zbirow〔( Zbiroh Castle ).〕 near Pilsen which was the family's country seat. Orth also designed buildings for some of the business enterprises controlled by Strousberg, amongst which were the Berliner Viehmarkt (Berlin Cattle Market) at Brunnenstraße, Berlin, for the Cattle Market Company (Viehmarkt Kommanditgesellschaft) and the Görlitzer Bahnhof railway terminus and such buildings as the Kaiserbahnhof Halbe for the Berlin-Görlitzer Railway. The Palais is one of the few buildings where Orth designed a facade in a neoclassical style rather than his usual use of neo-renaissance for secular buildings and Neo-gothic for ecclesiastical buildings. Some details of the exterior such as the Baroque balustrade and the rich decoration of the interior, were borrowed from many other architectural styles, single the palace out as an example of eclectic historicism. Strousberg, as an early railway pioneer, played a key role in Berlin's economic development, and commanded a considerable reputation as a man of progress.〔http://www.gbbb-berlin.com/strous_e.htm Bethel Henry Strousberg Speculator or Genius Of The Boom Years?〕 So it was appropriate that he should build "the first modern palace to be built in Berlin",〔 equipped with the latest technical innovations such as gas lighting, hot water heating, washing machines and bathrooms, which were unheard-of in the domestic architecture of Berlin at the time. Strousberg's reputation was further bolstered, not only by the building's prestigious address close to the ministries and palaces of the Berlin elite, but also by the extensive social accommodation he provided within the building. The entire ground floor was dedicated to the entertainment of his guests and included a ballroom, various drawing rooms, a library, billiard room and a gallery for Strousberg's art collection. Decades after its construction the magazine "Berliner Architekturwelt"〔 August Orth's obituary in ''Berliner Architekturwelt'', Nr. 4, 1902, page 116〕 noted in Orth's obituary in 1902 that the Palais was a "masterpiece of distinguished and courtly design"〔'' Meisterschöpfung in vornehmer Repräsentation''〕 and the standard text, "Berlin und seine Bauten"〔Berlin and her buildings.〕 had noted in 1896 that the planning, facilities and interior were still without equal in Berlin and that the building had effectively utilised many new building materials and techniques.〔 ''Herstellung in echten Baustoffen''〕 These innovations were imported from Prussia and put modern materials into service to imitate traditional features, such as painted zinc casting and plaster casts in place of carved stone, or stucco in place of marble. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Palais Strousberg」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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