Rheinsberg

On the shores of Grienerick See, Rheinsberg is primarily famous for its Schloss Rheinsberg. Situated 20km northeast of Neuruppin, RHEINSBERG, a small resort at the southern end of a network of lakes, dotted with campsites and water sports facilities. It's an enchanting eighteenth-century town, best known for its associations with Frederick the Great, moldering quietly on the shore of the Grienericksee, the southernmost end of the Rheinsberger.

The main tourist attraction over here is the lakeside Schloss, a three-winged building in smudged white at the southwestern edge of the center. An earlier building on the same site was the residence of Frederick the Great from 1736 until he was put to the throne in 1740. He spent his time in Rheinsberg in the study of science and art, later claiming it as the happiest period of his life. His favourite architect, Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, was commissioned to design the present structure as a palace for Frederick's younger brother Heinrich, who spent sixty years there, enjoying the company of attractive young men and redesigning the gardens. Highlight of the Schloss's interior is an allegorical ceiling painting Day Drives Away the Night.