diff --git a/backend/src/routes/system-admin.ts b/backend/src/routes/system-admin.ts
index 2d42c99..0d1b90c 100644
--- a/backend/src/routes/system-admin.ts
+++ b/backend/src/routes/system-admin.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   SynapseError,
   deleteRoom,
   getRoomDeleteStatus,
+  listFederationDestinations,
   listRooms,
   purgeMediaCache,
 } from "../services/synapse.js";
@@ -32,6 +33,15 @@ const listQuerySchema = z.object({
 
 const roomParamsSchema = z.object({ roomId: matrixRoomIdSchema });
 
+/**
+ * PROJ-16: federation list is expected to be empty or tiny, so no search term —
+ * only paging, kept for the case where federation is switched on later.
+ */
+const federationQuerySchema = z.object({
+  from: z.coerce.number().int().min(0).default(0),
+  limit: z.coerce.number().int().min(1).max(100).default(50),
+});
+
 /**
  * PROJ-15: cut-off for the media cache purge. Everything cached *before* this
  * instant is dropped, so a future timestamp would mean "purge the entire
@@ -359,4 +369,80 @@ export async function systemAdminRoutes(app: FastifyInstance) {
       };
     },
   );
+
+  /**
+   * PROJ-16: read-only view of the remote homeservers Synapse has talked to.
+   *
+   * Two distinctions the frontend depends on, and the reason this endpoint does
+   * more than pass the Synapse response through:
+   *
+   * 1. `federationAvailable: false` — the admin API itself is unavailable
+   *    (404/400 from a build without the endpoint). Render as "deaktiviert",
+   *    the expected state for TalkTime.
+   * 2. A 502 — Synapse is unreachable. That is NOT the same as "no servers
+   *    connected" and must never be flattened into an empty list, otherwise an
+   *    admin verifying isolation would read an outage as a clean bill of health.
+   *
+   * An empty list with `federationAvailable: true` is the normal, healthy
+   * result while `federation_domain_whitelist` stays empty.
+   *
+   * No audit entry: this is a pure read with no side effects, consistent with
+   * the room list (PROJ-14), which is likewise not audited.
+   */
+  app.get(
+    "/api/system-admin/federation",
+    { preHandler: [app.authenticate, requireSystemAdmin] },
+    async (request, reply) => {
+      const parsed = federationQuerySchema.safeParse(request.query);
+      if (!parsed.success) {
+        return reply.code(400).send({ error: parsed.error.issues[0].message });
+      }
+      const { from, limit } = parsed.data;
+
+      let page;
+      try {
+        page = await listFederationDestinations({ from, limit });
+      } catch (err) {
+        if (err instanceof SynapseError && (err.status === 404 || err.status === 400)) {
+          app.log.info({ err }, "PROJ-16: federation admin API unavailable — treating as disabled");
+          return {
+            federationAvailable: false,
+            destinations: [],
+            pagination: { from, limit, total: 0, nextToken: null },
+          };
+        }
+        app.log.error({ err }, "PROJ-16: failed to list federation destinations from Synapse");
+        return reply
+          .code(502)
+          .send({ error: "Synapse ist derzeit nicht erreichbar. Bitte später erneut versuchen." });
+      }
+
+      return {
+        federationAvailable: true,
+        destinations: page.destinations.map((entry) => {
+          // `failure_ts` set means Synapse is currently backing off from this
+          // server; retry_last_ts/retry_interval describe that backoff. All
+          // three are 0 (not null) on a healthy destination in most versions,
+          // so normalize 0 → null instead of rendering "01.01.1970".
+          const failureTs = entry.failure_ts || null;
+          const retryLastTs = entry.retry_last_ts || null;
+          const retryIntervalMs = entry.retry_interval || null;
+          return {
+            destination: entry.destination,
+            failing: failureTs !== null,
+            failureSince: failureTs ? new Date(failureTs).toISOString() : null,
+            lastRetryAt: retryLastTs ? new Date(retryLastTs).toISOString() : null,
+            retryIntervalMs,
+            // Next attempt is only meaningful while backing off.
+            nextRetryAt:
+              retryLastTs && retryIntervalMs
+                ? new Date(retryLastTs + retryIntervalMs).toISOString()
+                : null,
+            lastSuccessfulStreamOrdering: entry.last_successful_stream_ordering ?? null,
+          };
+        }),
+        pagination: { from, limit, total: page.total, nextToken: page.next_token },
+      };
+    },
+  );
 }
diff --git a/backend/src/services/synapse.ts b/backend/src/services/synapse.ts
index e7753ce..67f061b 100644
--- a/backend/src/services/synapse.ts
+++ b/backend/src/services/synapse.ts
@@ -328,6 +328,54 @@ export async function purgeMediaCache(beforeTs: number): Promise<PurgeMediaCache
   };
 }
 
+export interface SynapseDestination {
+  destination: string;
+  /** Timestamp (ms) of the last *failed* contact attempt, 0/null when healthy. */
+  retry_last_ts: number | null;
+  /** Backoff in ms until the next retry; 0 means "not backing off". */
+  retry_interval: number | null;
+  /** Timestamp (ms) when this destination started failing, null when healthy. */
+  failure_ts: number | null;
+  last_successful_stream_ordering: number | null;
+}
+
+export interface SynapseDestinationPage {
+  destinations: SynapseDestination[];
+  total: number;
+  next_token: string | null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * PROJ-16: lists the remote homeservers this Synapse has had contact with.
+ *
+ * With federation disabled (TalkTime's default: `federation_domain_whitelist: []`)
+ * this legitimately returns an empty list — that is the expected healthy state,
+ * not an error, and callers must not dress it up as one. Verified against the
+ * live instance: the endpoint answers immediately with `{destinations: [], total: 0}`
+ * rather than erroring out, so no version-specific fallback is needed here.
+ *
+ * Read-only by design; the sibling "block/unblock destination" admin endpoints
+ * are deliberately not wrapped (PROJ-16 non-goal).
+ */
+export async function listFederationDestinations(params: {
+  from: number;
+  limit: number;
+}): Promise<SynapseDestinationPage> {
+  const query = new URLSearchParams({
+    from: String(params.from),
+    limit: String(params.limit),
+    order_by: "destination",
+  });
+  const page = await synapseFetch<Partial<SynapseDestinationPage>>(
+    `/_synapse/admin/v1/federation/destinations?${query.toString()}`,
+  );
+  return {
+    destinations: page.destinations ?? [],
+    total: typeof page.total === "number" ? page.total : (page.destinations?.length ?? 0),
+    next_token: page.next_token ?? null,
+  };
+}
+
 export async function addUserToRoom(roomId: string, userId: string): Promise<void> {
   await synapseFetch(`/_synapse/admin/v1/join/${encodeURIComponent(roomId)}`, {
     method: "POST",
diff --git a/features/PROJ-16-federation-status.md b/features/PROJ-16-federation-status.md
index cf9fcbb..ea741b2 100644
--- a/features/PROJ-16-federation-status.md
+++ b/features/PROJ-16-federation-status.md
@@ -58,3 +58,11 @@ Keine.
 
 ### Status
 Vorabprüfung gegen die echte Synapse-Instanz abgeschlossen — keine offenen technischen Fragen mehr vor der Umsetzung.
+
+## Implementation Notes (Backend)
+- `listFederationDestinations()` in `backend/src/services/synapse.ts` (read-only Wrapper um `GET /_synapse/admin/v1/federation/destinations`, keine Block-/Unblock-Endpoints — Non-Goal).
+- `GET /api/system-admin/federation` in `backend/src/routes/system-admin.ts`, SYSTEM_ADMIN-only via `app.authenticate` + `requireSystemAdmin`, Zod-validiertes `from`/`limit` (max 100).
+- Antwort unterscheidet bewusst drei Fälle: `federationAvailable: false` (Admin-API nicht vorhanden → "deaktiviert"), leere Liste bei `federationAvailable: true` (Normalfall, kein Fehler) und HTTP 502 (Synapse nicht erreichbar — wird **nicht** zu einer leeren Liste verflacht).
+- Zeitstempel `0` werden zu `null` normalisiert; `nextRetryAt` wird aus `retry_last_ts + retry_interval` berechnet.
+- Kein DB-Schema, keine Migration, kein Audit-Eintrag (reiner Lesezugriff, wie die Raum-Liste in PROJ-14).
+- Offen: Frontend-Seite `/system-admin/federation` (Tabelle + Hinweistext für den leeren Zustand).