Pfaueninsel - romantic Peacock Island (10 photos + 1 video)

This island in Germany is home to a flock of wild peacocks and a stunning historic outbuilding made of white stone.





Pfaueninsel, or Peacock Island, is located on the Havel River, which flows through Berlin, and is a wonderful place for lovers of solitude, full of ancient buildings and wild birds. There is even an outbuilding of a fairytale castle built by order of the Prussian king.



Castle on Pfaueninsel

The almost 100-hectare blessed island was first known as "Rabbit Island" due to the small rabbit farm that Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg founded here in the 17th century. It was only at the end of the 18th century that his descendant Friedrich Wilhelm II turned the island into a secret refuge for himself and his mistress Wilhelmina Encke. He is believed to have declared: "On Rabbit Island, not a single tree or bush will be cut down!" Wilhelm II laid the foundation for the island's existence as a natural refuge for plants and animals.





He also built for himself and Encke the most iconic structure - a two-tower white folly castle (whim). The two towers are connected by a bridge in keeping with the medieval style.



After the death of Wilhelm II, the island passed to his son, who built a menagerie on it, where various rare and even exotic animals lived, including crocodiles, wolves, eagles and, of course, peacocks. By the mid-1940s, most of the animals had been transported to the newly opened Berlin Zoo. But some peacocks remained, and the island became a nature reserve.



House of the Cavaliers

Today, the island can still be visited by ferry from Berlin's Wannsee train station. Although the time of royalty is gone forever, wild peacocks continue to thrive, remaining its main attraction.



Dairy farm



Free local inhabitant