History
Part of the Schwanenburg dates back to the former Kaiserbahnhof Potsdam-Wildpark, today Halt Park Sanssouci, this was researched by Karl Liebscher of the Panketal Historical Society https://www.geschichtsverein-panketal.de. The half-timbered house was a reception building of the Kaiserbahnhof, built in 1868. There is also a book on this by Barbara Eggers.
From 1905 this station was demolished because it became too small, the new Kaiserbahnhof was built, which stands today as DB Academy in an otherwise hardly used station. The old half-timbered buildings were put into storage, since 1912 their whereabouts were unclear. At the same time, an inn called "Schwanenburg" was built in Schwanebeck on Bucher Chaussee by Otto Pierau. The Schwanenburg was successfully used as an inn, coffee house, but also as a nursery and for various dance events.
The old coffered ceiling made of pine wood of the Kaiserbahnhof has been preserved until today, also the massive entrance door.
After World War II, the building, which was at times on the specially guarded border between East Berlin and Brandenburg, was partly occupied by Soviet soldiers, then returned to the Pierau family, and used as a restaurant, event space with different tenants. In the last 15 years or so before the fall of communism in 1989, it fell into disrepair due to lack of renovation. An heir of the Pierau family renounced the inheritance, thus it became property of the municipality.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the entrepreneur Bernd Sparfeld bought it from the municipality and some superficial renovations were carried out. An office building was built right next door, both buildings were used for the distribution of printers. The old building was used as a warehouse on the ground floor, on the 1st floor and on the top floor were offices or company apartments.
Between approx. 2005 and 2015 the old building, now owned by the widow and daughter Sparfeld, was no longer used.
From 2015, the building was renovated and the old building has been used as an apartment house since 2019.