MANCAMONDO

Central Eastern
Europe

POTSDAM

Sanssouci Schloss and Park

POTSDAM BRANDENBURG

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesrepublik Deutschland)
is a country at the intersection of Central and Western Europe.

It is situated between the Baltic and North seas to the north, and the Alps to the south.
It borders Denmark to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and
Switzerland to the south, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands to the west

Sanssouci was the summer park-palace of
Frederick the Great, King of Prussia,
in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often
counted among the German
rivals of Versailles.

While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French
Baroque counterpart, it too is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the park.

The palace was designed/built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King
Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. v

The South or Garden facade and corps de logis of Sanssouci, 26.07.2019.

The palace's name emphasises a French phrase (sans souci), which translates as "without concerns",
meaning "without worries" or "carefree", symbolising that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power.

Sanssouci is little more than a large, single-story villa, more like the Château de Marly than Versailles.

Containing just ten principal rooms, it was built on the brow of a terraced hill at the centre of the park.

The influence of King Frederick's personal taste in the design and decoration of the palace was so great that its style is characterised
as "Frederician Rococo", and his feelings for the palace were so strong that he conceived it as a place that would die with him.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

The location and layout of Sanssouci above a vineyard reflected the pre-Romantic ideal of harmony between man and nature, in a landscape ordered by human touch.

Winemaking, however, was to take second place to the design of the palace and pleasure gardens.

The design of the New Palace was intended to demonstrate that Prussia's
capabilities were undiminished despite its near defeat in the Seven Years' War.

Frederick made no secret of his intention, even referring to the new construction as his "fanfaronnade" ("showing off").
This concept of a grand palace designed to impress has led to the comparison of the palaces
of Potsdam to Versailles, with Sanssouci being thrust into the role of one of the Trianons.

This analogy, though easy to understand, ignores the original merits of the concept
behind Sanssouci, the palace for which the whole park and setting were created.

Unlike the Trianons, Sanssouci was not an afterthought to escape the larger palace, for the simple reason that the larger palace did not exist
at the time of Sanssouci's conception; and once it did, Frederick almost never stayed in the New Palace
except on rare occasions when entertaining diplomats he wished to impress.

It is true, however, that Sanssouci was intended to be a private place of retreat rather than display of power, strength and architectural merit.

Unlike the Trianons, Sanssouci was designed to be a whole unto itself.

The terrace gardens, looking down from the palace, towards the park.

Rococo motifs focused on the carefree aristocratic life and on light-hearted romance, rather than on heroic battles and religious figures.

They also revolve around natural and exterior settings; this again suited Frederick's ideal of nature and design being in complete harmony.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

From 1750, marble statues were placed around the basin of the fountain. This again was a feature copied from Versailles:
figures of Venus, Mercury, Apollo, Diana, Juno, Jupiter, Mars and Minerva, as well as allegorical portrayals of the four elements Fire, Water, Air and Earth.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

The Orangery Palace (German: Orangerieschloss) is a palace located in the Sanssouci Park.

It is also known as the New Orangery on the Klausberg, or just the Orangery.

It was built on behest of the "Romantic on the Throne", King Friedrich Wilhelm IV (Frederick William IV of Prussia) from 1851 to 1864.

The building of the Orangery began with a plan for a high street or triumph street.
It was to begin at the triumph arch, east of Sanssouci Park, and end at the Belvedere on the Klausberg.

The middle building with its twin towers is the actual palace. This building is joined to the 103 meter
long and 16 meter wide Plant Hall, with its almost ceiling-to-floor windows on the south side.

The gardens were styled after those of the Italian Renaissance by the garden architect, Peter Joseph Lenne'.
In the west, below the annex, he designed the Paradise Garden in 1843-44. It contains many exotic flowers and foliage plants.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

In the alcoves along the garden side of the castle annex, there are allegorical figures of the months and seasons.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

The Dragon House was constructed between 1770 and 1772 in the Chinoiserie style on the northern edge of Sanssouci Park.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

The New Palace (German: Neues Palais) is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci park.

The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great) and was completed in 1769.

It is considered to be the last great Prussian Baroque palace.

While Frederician Rococo was established at Sanssouci, Frederick the Great had the New Palace
built in varying forms of Baroque architecture and decoration, with some deviations.

The King preferred Rococo and Baroque to the Neoclassical style that was already taking hold of Europe at the time as the preference of many monarchs.

Architect Johann Gottfried Buring, with the aid of Heinrich Ludwig Manger, was assigned with the task of
planning the New Palace and had already demonstrated success with the completion of the Chinese Teahouse

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

Opposite to the palace’s westward-opening court of honour are the Communs, designed by Carl von Gontard and Jean Laurent Le Geay.

Styled in the same manner as the palace itself, the two buildings housed the royal
kitchens, utilities, gardeners’ shops, palace guards and servants.

Between the two buildings stretches a curved colonnade, decorated with statuary and obelisks,
which acted as a state entrance and as a screen to shield the view of the marshlands beyond.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

The Chinese House, designed by Johann Gottfried Buring between 1755 and 1764;
a pavilion in the Chinoiserie style: a mixture of rococo elements coupled with Oriental architecture.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

The Protestant Church of Peace (German: Friedenskirche) is situated in the Marly Gardens
on the Green Fence (Am Grunen Gitter) in the palace grounds of Sanssouci Park

The church was built according to the wishes and with the close involvement of the artistically
gifted King Frederick William IV and designed by the court architect, Ludwig Persius.

The church was to derive in form and size from the early Christian Basilica di San Clemente in Rome.

It had to accommodate the apse mosaic from the church San Cipriano on the island of Murano in the Venetian Lagoon

The church is a columned basilica with three naves and no transept, with a free-standing belltower.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park 26.07.2019

Potsdam Brandenburg Sanssouci Park september 2021

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park, september 2021.

Picture Gallery (German: Bildergalerie), Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park, september 2021.

Trellised gazebo, Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park, september 2021.

Sanssouci Palace, Architectural detail from the central bow of the garden façade: Atlas and Caryatids.

Sanssouci Palace, Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park, september 2021.

Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park, september 2021.

Orangery Palace (German: Orangerieschloss), Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park, september 2021.

Neues Palais, Potsdam Brandenburg, Sanssouci Park, september 2021.