The castle was erected by Ernst Eberhard von Ihne, who later constructed the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum in Berlin (later Bode museum) on Berlin’s museum island. Wilhlem von Bode advised the Empress about what to collect and about the layout of the rooms. While cataloguizing her collection free of charge, Bode had the opportunity to experiment with the concept of „period rooms” which some time later was to become a trademark of his Berlin museums. In its entirety and in detail the castle unites English and German construction parts: the central ”hall”, the wooden staircase with the ”Royal Beasts”, the south façade structured by ”bay windows”, the wooden panelling and the tudor-style cornices are pointing towards England, while the latticework and the steep roof are inspired by the German building tradition.