Napoleon Bonaparte and Queen Louise in Tilsit
In 1806, Prussia had lost the war against France – against the ‘monster’ Napoleon – at Jena and Auerstedt. The royal family subsequently fled to East Prussia and sought refuge under Russian protection, as did the remnants of the Prussian army.
Image gallery
Unterredung mit Napoleon in Tilsit, 1807 aus: „Die Königin Luise in 50 Bildern für Jung und Alt“, Verlag Paul Kittel, Berlin 1896
Special exhibition
The pursuing French troops forced the Russian and Prussian forces to seek peace. The talks took place in the summer of 1807 at Tisilt on a raft on the Memel River between Napoleon and the Russian Tsar Alexander. King Frederick William III of Prussia was not permitted to take part. Prussia was discussed, but not with Prussia. Queen Luise was therefore sent to Napoleon by the Prussian Minister of State Hardenberg and her husband to plead for lenient terms of peace.
The meeting between the Emperor and the Queen was politically insignificant. Napoleon made no concessions. He is said to have remarked after the meeting that Luise was merely ‘Hardenberg’s parrot’. Subsequently, however, Prussian historiography has turned the meeting into a heart-warming heroic tale of the Queen’s ‘proud act of self-sacrifice’, in order to make people forget the utter futility of the whole endeavour.
The exhibition, spread across three rooms of the palace, examines this low point in Prussian history through a selection of objects, without any sentimentality.
- EXTENDED UNTIL 31 October 2027
Additional information
Opening hours:
April to October
Monday: closed
Tuesday–Sunday: 10.00–17.30
November to March
Monday – Friday: closed
Saturday / Sunday: 10.00 – 16.00
Christmas Eve (24 December 2026): closed
Christmas Day (25 December 2026): closed
Boxing Day (26 December 2026), 10.00 – 16.00
New Year’s Eve (31 December 2026), closed
New Year’s Day (1 January 2027), 11.00 – 16.00
Last admission 30 minutes before closing time.
Unless otherwise stated, the respective weekend opening hours apply on public holidays.
