History of Spandau Citadel
Preparatory work for the construction of the citadel began in 1557. The actual start of construction and the armouring design took place in 1560. 1580 saw the first occupation with troops 1594 saw the completion of the fortress construction. In 1620, the town of Spandau began to be remodelled with ramparts. The fortress was now a citadel. In 1636, the governor Count Adam zu Schwarzenberg moved the war office to the citadel.
Swedish troops lay in front of the citadel in 1675. In 1691 there was an explosion in the Crown Prince bastion, after which it was rebuilt in 1692, and during the war with France, the commander of the citadel surrendered on 25 October 1806 without having attempted to defend it. Napoleon Bonaparte visited it the following day. At the beginning of the Wars of Liberation, during the siege of the fortress occupied by French and Polish troops, an artillery hit by the Prussians caused the powder magazine on the Queen's Bastion to explode. Bombardier Henny of the six-pounder foot battery No. 6 of the Brandenburg artillery brigade was awarded the Iron Cross for this. On 26 April 1813, the garrison surrendered the fortress to General August von Thümen in exchange for free withdrawal.
The Queen's Bastion was restored in 1821. The outer masonry was faced in its present form in 1885.
An army gas protection laboratory was set up in 1935. Extensive research was carried out on the nerve gas Tabun. After the end of the Second World War, the site was occupied by Soviet troops without a fight in 1945.
Between 1945 and 1948, the British administration was the landlord of the citadel, where a museum of local history was opened in the Palas in 1960. From 1962 to 1976, extensive restoration work was carried out in the citadel, during the course of which explosive ordnance was searched for and cleared. Plans to house the Museum of Prehistory and Early History in the citadel were cancelled with the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1992, the City History Museum was opened in the armoury.
Source: Wikipedia
Event history
Whether rock, metal, pop, hip hop, punk, pop, techno or classical music. The Zitadelle has already welcomed many legends of different musical genres and many of those who have been here before have been happy to come back.
2023
Season from 07.06. to 25.08.
- Tenacious D
- Yusuf / Cat Stevens
- The War on Drugs
- Jack Johnson
- Ska-P
- Hollywood Vampires
- Generation Sex
- Simply Red
- Ben Howard
- Fury in the Slaughterhouse
- Devo
- Element Of Crime
2022
Season from 28.05. to 03.09.
- Casper X K.I.Z X Kraftklub
- Punk In Drublic
- Die Ärzte
- Foreigner
- Patti Smith and her band
- The National
- Gianna Nannini
- Midnight Oil
- Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
- Gregory Porter & Band
- Sting
- Fat Freddy’s Drop
- Herbie Hancock
- Scooter
- Bauhaus
- Rüfüs Du Sol
- Ben Zucker
- Johannes Oerding
- Deine Freunde
- Tash Sultana
- Citadel Music Festival goes Classic (with: Simone Kermes | Amici Veneziani)
2019
Season from 31.05. to 31.08.
- Ska-P
- The Smashing Pumpkins
- The Piano Guys
- ZZ Top
- Dropkick Murphys
- Deine Freunde
- Bloc Party
- The B-52s
- King Crimson
- Toto
- Def Leppard
- Foreigner
- Loreena McKennitt
- Tash Sultana
- Pur
- Feine Sahne Fischfilet
- Max Richter: Vivaldi Recomposed
- Dieter Bohlen
2018
Season from 04.06. to 24.08.
- Hollywood Vampires
- Runrig
- Sweet
- Lenny Kravitz
- A Perfect Circle
- Nena
- Massive Attack
- Nine Inch Nails
- Billy Idol
- Amy MacDonald
- Jack Johnson
- Joan Baez
- Michael Patrick Kelly
- Arcade Fire
- Savas & Sido
- Santana
- Milky Chance & Friends
- a-ha
- Fat Freddy’s Drop
2017
Season from 01.06. to 29.08.
- Eddie Vedder
- Prophets of Rage
- The Beach Boys
- Kontra K
- Zucchero
- Deine Freunde
- Jean-Michel Jarre
- ZZ Top
- Patti Smith & her band
- Alligatoah
- Cypress Hill
2016
Season from 04.06. to 28.08.
- Die Antwoord
- Volbeat
- Pentatonix
- Cypress Hill
- PJ Harvey
- Editors
- Massive Attack
- Beirut
- Niedeckens BAP
- Element Of Crime
- Lionel Richie
- Pixies
- The BossHoss
- AnnenMayKantereit
- Kool Savas
- Pur
2015
Season from 02.06. to 29.08.
- Limp Bizkit
- Faith No More
- Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators
- Manu Chao
- Revolverheld
- Tom Jones
- Gregory Porter
- ZZ Top
- ZAZ
- Lindsey Stirling
- Van Morrison
- Björk
- Trailerpark Open Air (a.o. with: Alligatoah, Trailerpark & SSIO)
2014
Season from 15.05. to 30.08.
- Nine Inch Nails
- Mando Diao
- The National
- Arctic Monkeys
- Billy Idol
- Lana Del Rey
- Limp Bizkit
- Dropkick Murphys
- Robert Plant & The Sensational Space Shifters
- Broilers
- Sportfreunde Stiller
- We Are One Festival (a.o. with: Paul Van Dyk & Eric Prydz)
- Imagine Dragons
- Prinz Pi
- Milky Chance & Freunde
2013
Season from 06.06. to 31.08.
- Thirty Seconds To Mars
- Dead Can Dance
- Portishead
- Ben Howard
- Queens Of The Stone Age
- ZZ Top
- We Are One Festival (a.o. with: Paul Van Dyk & Chicane)
- ZAZ
- Iggy And The Stooges
- Cro
- Glen Hansard
- Tenacious D
- Silly
- Jamie Cullum
- Xavas
2012
Season from 31.05. to 25.08.
- Soundgarden
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Zita Rock Festival (a.o. with: Evanescence & Oomph)
- Lou Reed
- Bob Dylan
- Alanis Morissette
- Billy Idol
- Heimspiel 2012 (a.o. with: Jennifer Rostock & Jupiter Jones)
- Loreena McKennitt
- Boy
- The Pogues
- Katzenjammer
- Kitty, Daisy & Lewis
- Omega
- The Baseballs
- Knorkator
2011
Season from 29.05. to 21.08.
- Marianne Faithfull & Sophie Hunger
- Mando Diao
- 3 Doors Down
- Roxette
- Bryan Adams
- Foreigner & Journey
- Chicago
- Zita Rock Festival (a.o. with: Apocalyptica & Eisbrecher)
- Erasure
- Return To Forever
- Black Country Communion
- Scala & Kolacny Brothers
- The Nigel Kennedy Quintett
- Paul Simon
- Morrissey
- Robert Plant
- Hurts
- Element Of Crime
- ZAZ
2010
Season from 30.05. to 31.08.
- Schiller
- Gossip
- Bushido
- Zita Rock Festival (a.o. with: ASP & Subway To Sally)
- Wecker & Wader
- Patti Smith and her band
- Stevie Wonder
- Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club
- Dracula The Music and Film (Performed by Philip Glass & Kronos Quartet)
- Toto
- Jethro Tull
- The Pogues
- Reamonn
- Queens Of The Stone Age
- Silly
- Gregorian
- Runrig
2009
Season from 29.05. to 30.08.
- ZZ Top
- Wacken Rock Open Air (a.o. with: Der W & Volbeat)
- Schultheiss Schlagernacht
- Madness
- Korn
- Heaven & Hell
- Zita Rock Festival (a.o. with: Unheilig & Oomph!)
- Simple Minds
- Social Distortion
- Foreigner
- Ina Müller & Band
- Blackmore’s Night
- Goran Bregovic & Shantel
- Calexico, Lambchop & L. Williams
- Fritz im Freien (u.a. mit: Clueso & Selig)
- Keimzeit
- Ein Hartz für Berlin (a.o. with: Icke & Er & Bela B.)
- Marianne Faithfull
- Cantus Buranus
- Silbermond
- Tangerine Dream
2008
Season from 30.05. to 01.09.
- Jethro Tull with Orchestra
- Zita Rock Festival (a.o. with: Subway To Sally & ASP)
- John Fogerty
- Queens Of The Stone Age
- Juanes
- Rage Against The Machine
- The Chemical Brothers
- Ich + Ich
- Loreena McKennitt
- Motörhead
- “Die Zauberflöte”
- Diana Krall
- Kris Kristofferson
- The B-52´s
- Meat Loaf
- Roger Hodgson
- Chicago
- Roger Cicero & Big Band
- Scooter
- Gregorian
- Primary Colours Festival (a.o. with: Len Faki & Jahcoozi)
- Motor im Grünen (a.o. with: Editors & Polarkreis 18)
- Neil Young
- Abba Mania
- Iggy & The Stooges
- Zita Pop Festival (a.o. with: And One & Camouflage)
- Schiller
2007
Season from 02.06. to 26.08.
- Berliner Symphoniker
- Mando Diao
- OMD
- Bushido
- Jethro Tull
- Dream Theater
- BAP
- Patti Smith and her Band
- Zita Rock Festival (a.o. with: Knorkator)
- Herr der Ringe (Tolkien Ensemble)
- Korn
- Status Quo
- Silbermond
- Joan Baez
- Helmut Lotti
- John Fogerty
- Steely Dan
- Chuck Berry
- Katie Melua
- Blackmore´s Night
- Nocturna Festival (a.o. with: Schandmaul & Corvus Corax)
- Norah Jones
- Aida
- Christoph Maria Herbst
- In Extremo & 69 Eyes
- The Kelly Family
2006
Season from 26.05. to 05.08.
- Goran Bregovic
- Gregorian
- Madness
- Jeff Beck & Buddy Guy
- Billy Idol
- Cantus Buranus
- Nabucco
The Spandau Citadel as an event venue
Since 2005, the citadel has been played by the company Trinity Music. At the time, the company was looking for an alternative to the Museum Island location, where the annual Museum Island Festival had previously been held.
The first concert at the Citadel was Blackmore's Night on 27 July 2005. 2006 was the first time that several concerts were given in a row. These included Gregorian, Madness, Billy Idol & Cantus Buranus.
After the success of the previous two years, the number of events continued to rise and in 2007, 26 concerts were played. To this day, the Citadel Music Festival takes place in summer between May and September.
