Palais am Festungsgraben

Named after the nearby moat (now the Spree canal), the Palais am Festungsgraben (Palace on the Moat) was built in the middle of the 18th century and initially housed Johann Gottfried Donner, King Frederick II's valet. After the turn of the 19th century, the Prussian Ministry of Finance moved into the building located between the armoury, university and guardhouse. Like the Kronprinzenpalais, the Palais am Festungsgraben was heavily damaged during World War II. After the war the building was reconstructed and used as the House of Soviet Culture, then as the House of German-Soviet Friendship. Today, the Palais am Festungsgraben is owned by the state of Berlin: the historic rooms are used for cultural, museum and gastronomic purposes. The Gorki and Palais am Festungsgraben are not only linked by their architecture, but also by the two previous festivals, the 1. Berliner Herbstsalon at the beginning of Shermin Langhoff and Jens Hillje's tenure in 2013, and the salon's second edition in 2015.