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Sanssouci

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Architecture

   The South or Garden façade and corps de logis of Sanssouci
   Enlarge
   The South or Garden façade and corps de logis of Sanssouci

   Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of
   Prussia at Potsdam, just outside 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
   is notable for the numerous temples and follies in Sanssouci Park.
   Designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to
   fulfil Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax
   away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court, the palace is
   little more than a large single-storey 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. So
   great was the influence of Frederick's personal taste in the design and
   decoration of the palace that its style is characterised as "
   Frederician Rococo", and so personally did he regard the palace that he
   conceived it as "a place that would die with him". Because of a
   disagreement about the sight of the palace from the park Von
   Knobelsdorff was fired in 1746. Jan Bouman, a Dutch architect finished
   the project.

   During the 19th century, the palace became a residence of Frederick
   William IV. He employed the architect Ludwig Persius to restore and
   enlarge the palace, while Ferdinand von Arnim was charged with
   improving the locality and thus the view from the palace. The town of
   Potsdam, with its palaces, was a favourite place of residence for the
   German imperial family until the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty in
   1918.
   Frederick the Great (1712–86).
   Enlarge
   Frederick the Great (1712–86).

   After World War II, the palace became a tourist attraction in East
   Germany. It was fully maintained with due respect to its historical
   importance, and was open to the public. Following German reunification
   in 1990, the final wish of Frederick came to pass: his body was finally
   returned to his beloved palace and buried in a new tomb overlooking the
   gardens he had created. Sanssouci and its extensive gardens became a
   World Heritage Site in 1990 under the protection of UNESCO; in 1995,
   the Foundation for Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Berlin- Brandenburg
   was established to care for Sanssouci and the other former imperial
   palaces in and around of Berlin. These palaces are now visited by more
   than two million people a year from all over the world.

Ethos of Sanssouci

   Frederick the Great's sketch for the plan of Sanssouci was the
   prototype for the palace (north is at the top). A single enfilade of
   ten principal rooms forms the south-facing corps de logis. To the
   north, two segmented colonnades form a cour d'honneur. Two flanking
   service wings (hidden from view, screened by trees and covered by
   climbing plants) provide the necessary but mundane domestic offices.
   Enlarge
   Frederick the Great's sketch for the plan of Sanssouci was the
   prototype for the palace (north is at the top). A single enfilade of
   ten principal rooms forms the south-facing corps de logis. To the
   north, two segmented colonnades form a cour d'honneur. Two flanking
   service wings (hidden from view, screened by trees and covered by
   climbing plants) provide the necessary but mundane domestic offices.

   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 hill on which
   Frederick created his terrace vineyard was to become the focal point of
   his demesne, crowned by the new, but small, palace—"mein
   Weinberghäuschen" ("my little vineyard house"), as Frederick called it.
   With its extensive views of the countryside in the midst of nature,
   Frederick wanted to reside there sans souci (French for "without a
   care") and to follow his personal and artistic interests. Hence, the
   palace was intended for the use of Frederick and his private guests
   only during the summer months, from the end of April to the beginning
   of October.

   Twenty years after his creation of Sanssouci, Frederick built the New
   Palace (Neues Palais) in the western part of the park. This far larger
   palace was in direct contrast to the relaxed ethos behind Sanssouci,
   and displayed Frederick's power and strength to the world, in the
   Baroque style. 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" (his
   "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. It is true,
   however, that Sanssouci was intended to be a private place of retreat
   rather than display of power and strength and architectural merit.
   Unlike the Trianons, Sanssouci was designed to be a whole unto itself.
   One of the two segmented colonnades enclosing the cour d'honneur on the
   northern side of the palace.
   Enlarge
   One of the two segmented colonnades enclosing the cour d'honneur on the
   northern side of the palace.

   Sanssouci is small, with the principal block (or corps de logis) being
   a narrow single-storey enfilade of just ten rooms, including a service
   passage and staff rooms behind them. Frederick's amateur sketch of 1745
   (illustrated above) demonstrates that his architect, von Knobelsdorff,
   was more a draughtsman at Sanssouci than complete architect. Frederick
   appears to have accepted no suggestions for alteration to his plans,
   refusing von Knobelsdorff's idea that the palace should have a
   semi-basement storey, which would not only have provided service areas
   closer at hand, but would have put the principal rooms on a raised
   piano nobile. This would have given the palace not only a more
   commanding presence, but also would have prevented the problems of
   dampness to which it has always been prone. However, Frederick wanted
   an intimate palace for living: for example, rather than scaling a large
   number of steps, he wanted to enter the palace immediately from the
   garden. He insisted on a building on the ground level, of which the
   pedestal was the hill: in short, this was to be a private pleasure
   house. His recurring theme and requirement was for a house with close
   connections between its style and free nature. The principal rooms, lit
   by tall slender windows, face south over the vineyard gardens; the
   north façade is the entrance front, where a semicircular cour d'honneur
   was created by two segmented Corinthian colonnades.

   In the park, east of the palace, is the Sanssouci Picture Gallery,
   built from 1755 to 1764 under the supervision of the architect Johann
   Gottfried Büring. It stands on the site of a former greenhouse, where
   Frederick raised tropical fruit. The Picture Gallery is the oldest
   extant museum built for a ruler in Germany. Like the palace itself, it
   is a long, low building, dominated by a central domed bow of three
   bays.
   The south facing garden façade. Frederick the Great ignored his
   architect's advice to place the piano nobile upon a low ground floor.
   As a result, the palace failed to take maximum advantage of its
   location. Its windows are devoid of views, and seen from its lower
   terraces it appears to be more of an orangery than a palace.
   Enlarge
   The south facing garden façade. Frederick the Great ignored his
   architect's advice to place the piano nobile upon a low ground floor.
   As a result, the palace failed to take maximum advantage of its
   location. Its windows are devoid of views, and seen from its lower
   terraces it appears to be more of an orangery than a palace.

   Following the death of Frederick a new era began, a visible sign of
   which was the change in architectural styles. Neo-Classicism, popular
   elsewhere in Europe but ignored by Frederick, now found its way to
   Potsdam and Berlin during the reign of the new king Frederick William
   II. He ordered the construction of a new palace in the new more
   fashionable style, and stayed at Sanssouci only occasionally.

   The reception and bedrooms were renovated and completely altered
   immediately after Frederick's death. Frederick William von
   Erdmannsdorff received the commission for the refurbishment. While
   Frederick had been constructing the New Palace in the Baroque style
   between 1763 and 1769, Erdmannsdorff, an advocate of the new
   neo-classical style, had created Schloss Wörlitz in Wörlitz Park, the
   first neo-classical palace in Germany. As a result of his influence,
   Sanssouci became the first of the palaces in Potsdam and Berlin to be
   remodelled with a neo-classical interior. In 1797, Frederick William II
   was succeeded by Frederick William III; he visited Sanssouci even less
   frequently than did his father, preferring to spend the summer months
   in Chateau Paretz or on the Pfaueninsel in Berlin.

Architecture of Sanssouci

   Architectural detail from the central bow of the garden façade: Atlas
   and Caryatids.
   Enlarge
   Architectural detail from the central bow of the garden façade: Atlas
   and Caryatids.

   It was no coincidence that Frederick selected the Rococo style of
   architecture for Sanssouci. The light, almost whimsical style then in
   vogue exactly suited the light-hearted uses for which he required this
   retreat. The Rococo style of art emerged in France in the early 18th
   century as a continuation of the Baroque style, but in contrast with
   the heavier themes and darker colours of the Baroque, the Rococo was
   characterized by an opulence, grace, playfulness, and lightness. Rococo
   motifs focused on the carefree aristocratic life and on light-hearted
   romance, rather than on heroic battles and religious figures: they also
   revolve heavily around natural and exterior settings; this again suited
   Frederick’s ideal of nature and design being in complete harmony. The
   palace was completed much as Frederick had envisaged in his preliminary
   sketches (see illustration above)

   The palace has a single-storey principal block with two flanking side
   wings. The building occupies almost the entire upper terrace. The
   potential monotony of the façade is broken by a central bow, its dome
   rising above the hipped roof, with the name of the palace on it in
   gilded bronze letters. The secondary side wings on the garden front are
   screened by two symmetrical rows of trees each terminating in
   free-standing trellised gazebos, richly decorated with gilded
   ornaments.

   The garden front of the palace is decorated by carved figures of Atlas
   and Caryatids; grouped in pairs between the windows, these appear to
   support the balustrade above. Executed in sandstone, these figures of
   both sexes represent Bacchants, the companions of the wine god Bacchus,
   and originate from the workshop of the sculptor Friedrich Christian
   Glume. The same workshop created the vases on the balustrade, and the
   groups of cherubs above the windows of the dome.
   The south façade of the Sanssouci Picture Gallery.
   Enlarge
   The south façade of the Sanssouci Picture Gallery.

   By contrast, the north entrance façade is more restrained. Segmented
   colonnades of 88 Corinthian columns—two deep—curve outwards from the
   palace building to enclose the semicircular cour d'honneur. As on the
   south side, a balustrade with sandstone vases decorates the roof of the
   main corps de logis.

   Flanking the corps de logis are two secondary wings, providing the
   large service accommodation and domestic offices necessary to serve an
   18th-century monarch, even when in retreat from the world. In
   Frederick's time, these single-storey wings were covered with foliage
   to screen their mundane purpose. The eastern wing housed the
   secretaries', gardeners' and servants' rooms, while the west wing held
   the palace kitchen, stables and a remise ( coach house).

   Frederich regularly occupied the palace each summer throughout his
   lifetime, but after his death in 1786 it remained mostly unoccupied and
   neglected until the mid-19th century. In 1840, 100 years after
   Frederick's accession to the throne, his grand nephew Frederick William
   IV and his wife moved into the guest rooms. The royal couple retained
   the existing furniture and replaced missing pieces with furniture from
   Frederick's time. The room in which Frederick had died was intended to
   be restored to its original state, but this plan was never executed
   because of a lack of authentic documents and plans. However, the
   armchair in which Frederick had died was returned to the palace in
   1843.

   Frederick William IV, a draftsman interested in both architecture and
   landscape gardening, transformed the palace from the retreat of his
   reclusive great uncle into a fully functioning and fashionable country
   house. The small service wings were enlarged between 1840 and 1842.
   This was necessary because, while Frederick philosophised and played
   music at Sanssouci, he liked to live modestly without splendour. As he
   aged, his modesty developed into miserliness. He would not permit
   repairs to the outer façade and allowed them in the rooms only with
   great reluctance. This was ascribed to his wish that Sanssouci should
   only last his lifetime.
   The East Wing. The two service wings, virtually hidden from sight by
   foliage in the time of Frederick the Great, were remodelled in the 19th
   century by Frederick William IV, who transformed the palace into a more
   conventional royal residence for family and court use.
   Enlarge
   The East Wing. The two service wings, virtually hidden from sight by
   foliage in the time of Frederick the Great, were remodelled in the 19th
   century by Frederick William IV, who transformed the palace into a more
   conventional royal residence for family and court use.

   The additions included a mezzanine floor to both wings. The kitchen was
   moved into the east wing. Frederick the Great's small wine cellar was
   enlarged to provide ample store rooms for the enlarged household, while
   the new upper floor provided staff bedrooms.

   The west wing became known as "The Ladies' Wing", providing
   accommodation for ladies-in-waiting and guests. This was a common
   arrangement in mid-19th-century households, which often had a
   corresponding "Bachelor's Wing" for unmarried male guests and members
   of the household. The rooms were decorated with intricate boiseries,
   panelling and tapestries. This new accommodation for ladies was vital:
   entertaining at Sanssouci was minimal during the reign of Frederick the
   Great, and it is known that women were never entertained there, so
   there were no facilities for them. Frederick had married Elisabeth
   Christine von Braunschweig-Bevern in 1733, but separated from his wife
   after his accession to the throne in 1740. The Queen resided alone at
   Schloss Schönhausen in Berlin after the separation, and Frederick
   preferred Sanssouci to be "sans femmes" (without women).

Interior of the palace

   "The Flute Concert of Sanssouci" by von Menzel, 1852, depicts Frederick
   the Great playing the flute in his music room at Sanssouci.
   Enlarge
   "The Flute Concert of Sanssouci" by von Menzel, 1852, depicts Frederick
   the Great playing the flute in his music room at Sanssouci.

   In the Baroque tradition, the principal rooms (including the bedrooms)
   are all on the ground floor piano nobile—by Frederick's choice. In the
   case of Sanssouci, this is also the only floor: while the secondary
   wings have upper floors, the corps de logis occupied by the King does
   not. Comfort was also a priority in the layout of the rooms. The palace
   continues the sentiments of the contemporary French architectural
   theory: the Apartment double ideals of courtly comfort. This system
   requires two rows of rooms, one behind the other. The main rooms face
   the garden, by and large looking south, while the servants' quarters in
   the row behind are on the north side of the building. An Apartment
   double thus consists of a main room and a servant's chamber added on.
   Doors connect the apartments with each other. They are arranged as an "
   enfilade", so that the entire indoor length of the palace can be
   assessed at a glance.

   Frederick sketched his requirements for decoration and layout, and
   these sketches were interpreted by artists such as Johann August Nahl,
   the Hoppenhaupt brothers, the Spindler brothers and Johann Melchior
   Kambly, who all not only created works of art, but decorated the rooms
   in the Rococo style. While Frederick cared little about etiquette and
   fashion, he also wanted to be surrounded by beautiful objects and works
   of art. He arranged his private apartments according to his personal
   taste and needs, often ignoring the current trends and fashions. These
   "self-compositions" in Rococo art led to the term " Frederician
   Rococo".

   The principal entrance area, consisting of two halls, the "Entrance
   Hall" and the "Marble Hall", is at the centre, thus providing common
   rooms for the assembly of guests and the court, while the principal
   rooms flanking the Marble Hall become progressively more intimate and
   private, in the tradition of the Baroque concept of state rooms. Thus,
   the Marble Hall was the principal reception room beneath the central
   dome. Five guest rooms adjoined the Marble Hall to the west, while the
   King's apartments lay to the east - an audience room, music room,
   study, bedroom, library, and a long gallery on the north side.

   The palace is generally entered through the Entrance Hall, where the
   restrained form of the classical external colonnade was continued into
   the interior. The walls of the rectangular room were subdivided by ten
   pairs of Corinthian columns made of white stucco marble with gilded
   capitals. Three overdoor reliefs with themes from the myth of Bacchus
   reflected the vineyard theme created outside. Georg Franz Ebenhech was
   responsible for gilded stucco works. The strict classical elegance was
   relieved by a painted ceiling executed by the Swedish painter Johann
   Harper, depicting the goddess Flora with her acolytes, throwing flowers
   down from the sky.
   Die Tafelrunde by Adolph von Menzel. The central, domed, "Marble Hall"
   is the principal reception room of the palace. On the left side, in the
   purple coat, sits Voltaire, the other guests are members of the
   Prussian Academy of Sciences
   Enlarge
   Die Tafelrunde by Adolph von Menzel. The central, domed, "Marble Hall"
   is the principal reception room of the palace. On the left side, in the
   purple coat, sits Voltaire, the other guests are members of the
   Prussian Academy of Sciences

   The Marble Hall, as the principal reception room, was the setting for
   celebrations in the palace, decorated with gilded ornamentation, its
   dome crowned by a cupola. As in the vestibule, selected marble from
   Carrara and Silesia was used for the paired columns, and the floor was
   of Italian marble intarsia. Two niches held sculptures by the French
   sculptor François Gaspard Adam: Venus Urania, the goddess of free
   nature and life, and Apollo, the god of the arts, established the
   iconography of Sanssouci as a place of art and nature.

   The adjoining room served as both an audience room and the Dining Room.
   It is decorated with paintings by French 18th-century artists,
   including Jean-Baptiste Pater, Jean François de Troy, Pierre Jacques
   Cazes, Louis de Silvestre, and Antoine Watteau. However, here, as in
   the majority of the rooms, the carved putti, flowers and books on the
   overdoor reliefs were the work of Glume, and the ceiling paintings
   emphasise the rococo spirit of the palace. This exuberant form of
   ornamentation of rococo, Rocaille, was used in abundance on the walls
   and ceiling in the music room. Much of the work was by the sculptor and
   decorator Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt (the elder). A 1746 fortepiano by
   Gottfried Silbermann which once belonged to Frederick the Great remains
   as a nostalgic reminder of the room's original purpose.

   The King's study and bedroom, remodelled after Frederick's death by
   Frederick William von Erdmannsdorff in 1786, it is now in direct
   contrast to the rococo rooms. Here, the clean and plain lines of
   classicism now rule. However, Frederick's desk and the armchair in
   which he died in were returned to the room in the middle of the 19th
   century. Portraits and once missing pieces of furniture from the
   Frederick's time have also since been replaced.

   The circular library deviated from the spatial structure of French
   palace architecture. The room is almost hidden, accessed through a
   narrow passageway from the bedroom, underlining its private character.
   Cedarwood was used to panel the walls and for the alcoved bookcases.
   The harmonious shades of brown augmented with rich gold-coloured
   Rocaille ornaments were intended to create a peaceful mood.

   The bookcases contained approximately 2,100 volumes of Greek and Roman
   writings and historiographies and also a collection of French
   literature of the 17th and 18th centuries with a heavy emphasis on the
   works of Voltaire. The books were bound in brown or red goat leather
   and richly gilded.

   The north facing gallery overlooked the forecourt. Here, again,
   Frederick deviated from French room design, which would have placed
   service rooms in this location. Recessed into the inner wall of this
   long room were niches containing marble sculptures of Greco-Roman
   deities. Five windows alternating with pier glasses on the outer wall
   reflect the paintings by Nicolas Lancret, Jean-Baptiste Pater and
   Antoine Watteau hung between the niches opposite.

   To the west were the guest rooms in which were lodged those friends of
   the King considered intimate enough to be invited to this most private
   of his palaces. Two of Frederick's visitors were sufficiently
   distinguished and frequent that the rooms they occupied were named
   after them. The Rothenburg room is named after Count von Rothenburg,
   who inhabited his circular room until his death in 1751. This room
   balances the palace architecturally with the library. The Voltaire Room
   was frequently occupied by the philosopher during his stay in Potsdam
   between 1750 and 1753. The Voltaire Room was remarkable for its
   decoration, which gave it its the alternative name of the "Flower
   Room". On a yellow lacquered wall panel were superimposed, colourful,
   richly adorned wood carvings. Apes, parrots, cranes, storks, fruits,
   flowers, garlands gave the room a cheerful and natural character.
   Johann Christian Hoppenhaupt (the younger) designed the room between
   1752 and 1753 from sketches made by Frederick.

The terraced gardens

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

   The panoramic vista of the garden of Sanssouci is the result of
   Frederick the Great's decision to create a terraced vineyard on the
   south slope of the hills of Bornstedt. The area had previously been
   wooded but the trees were felled during the reign of the "soldier-king"
   Frederick William I to allow the city of Potsdam to expand.

   On 10 August 1744, Frederick ordered the bare hillside to be
   transformed into terraced vineyards. Three wide terraces were created,
   with convex centres to maximise the sun light (see plan). On the
   partitions of the supporting walls, the brickwork is pierced by 168
   glazed niches. Trellised vines from Portugal, Italy, France, and also
   from nearby Neuruppin, were planted against the brickwork, while figs
   grew in the niches. The individual parts of the terrace were further
   divided by strips of lawn, on which were planted yew trees. Low box
   hedging surrounded trellised fruit, making a circular ornamental
   parterre. In the middle of this "wheel", 120 steps (now 132) led
   downward further dividing the terraces into six.
   A trellised gazebo at Sanssouci.
   Enlarge
   A trellised gazebo at Sanssouci.

   Below the hill, a Baroque ornamental garden, modelled on the parterre
   at Versailles, was constructed in 1745. The Great Fountain was built at
   the centre of this garden in 1748. Frederick never saw the fountain
   playing because the engineers employed in the construction had little
   understanding of the hydraulics involved. 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. Venus and Mercury, the works
   of the sculptor Jean Baptiste Pigalle, and two groups of hunters,
   allegories of the elements (wind and water) by Lambert Sigisbert Adam,
   were presented by Versailles's owner, the French King Louis XV. The
   remaining figures came from the workshop of François Gaspard Adam, a
   renowned sculptor in Berlin. By 1764, the French Rondel, as it came to
   be known, was completed.

   Nearby was a kitchen garden, which Frederick William I had laid out
   sometime prior to 1715. The soldier-king jokingly gave this simple
   garden the name "My Marly", in reference to the very similar garden at
   the summer residence of the Louis XIV in Marly-le-Roi.

   In his plans for the grounds, Frederick attached great importance on
   the combination of both an ornamental and a practical garden, thus
   demonstrating his belief that art and nature should be united.

The Park

   The Temple of Friendship: constructed south of the main avenue from
   1768 to 1770 by Carl von Gontard in memory of Frederick the Great's
   favourite sister, Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth. The building
   complements the Antique Temple, which lies due north of the alley.
   Enlarge
   The Temple of Friendship: constructed south of the main avenue from
   1768 to 1770 by Carl von Gontard in memory of Frederick the Great's
   favourite sister, Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth. The building
   complements the Antique Temple, which lies due north of the alley.

   Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the
   palace, Frederick turned his attention to the landscaping of the
   greater vicinity of the palace and thus began the creation of Sanssouci
   Park. In his organisation of the park, Frederick continued what he had
   begun in Neuruppin and Rheinsberg. A straight main avenue was laid out,
   ultimately 2.5  km long, beginning in the east at the 1748 obelisk and
   extended over the years to the New Palace, which marks its western end.

   Continuing the horticultural theme of the terraced gardens, 3,000 fruit
   trees were planted in the park, and greenhouses and nurseries laid out,
   producing oranges, melons, peaches and bananas. Statuary and obelisks
   were also erected, with representations of the goddesses Flora and
   Pomona. Frederick had several temples and follies erected in the same
   rococo style as the palace itself. Some were small houses which
   compensated for the lack of reception rooms in the palace itself.
   The Chinese House, designed by Johnn Gottfried Büring between 1755 and
   1764; a pavilion in the Chinoiserie style: a mixture of rococo elements
   coupled with Oriental architecture.
   Enlarge
   The Chinese House, designed by Johnn Gottfried Büring between 1755 and
   1764; a pavilion in the Chinoiserie style: a mixture of rococo elements
   coupled with Oriental architecture.

   Frederick invested heavily in a vain attempt to introduce a fountain
   system in Sanssouci Park, attempting to emulate the other great Baroque
   gardens of Europe. Hydraulics at this stage were still in their
   infancy, and despite the building of pumping houses and reservoirs, the
   fountains at Sanssouci remained silent and still for the next 100
   years. The invention of the steam power solved the problems a century
   later, and thus the reservoir finally fulfilled its purpose. From
   around 1842, the Prussian Royal family were finally able to marvel at
   such features as the Great Fountain below the vineyard terraces,
   shooting jets of water to a height of 38  metres. The pumping station
   itself became another garden pavilion, disguised as Turkish Mosque,
   with its chimney becoming a minaret.

   The park was expanded under Frederick William III, and later under his
   son Frederick William IV. The architects Karl Friedrich Schinkel and
   Ludwig Persius built Charlottenhof Palace in the park on the site of a
   former farm house, and Peter Joseph Lenné was commissioned with the
   garden design. Broad meadows created visual avenues between
   Charlottenhof, the Roman Baths and the New Palace, and incorporated the
   follies such as the Temple of Friendship of Frederick the Great.

Sanssouci in modern times

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

   After the First World War, and despite the end of the German monarchy,
   the palace remained in the possession of the Hohenzollern dynasty. It
   eventually came under the protection of the Prussian "Verwaltung der
   Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten" (Administration of National Palaces
   and Gardens) on April 1, 1927.

   When air raids on Berlin began in the Second World War, the most
   notable works of art of the former imperial palaces were transferred
   for safety to Rheinsberg ( Brandenburg) and Bernterode im Eichsfeld (
   Thüringen). The structure of the palace remained unscathed despite
   fierce fighting in the vicinity in 1945, but the ancient windmill,
   retained in the park by Frederick to add rustic charm, was destroyed.

   Following the end of the war, most of the items that had been moved to
   Rheinsberg were transferred as booty to the Soviet Union; only a small
   part was returned to the palace in 1958. The artistic pieces from
   Bernterode found by American soldiers were first shipped to Wiesbaden
   to the "Central Art Collecting Point" and in 1957 went to
   Charlottenburg palace in West Berlin.

   Compared to many similar buildings, the palace fared well during almost
   50 years under Communist jurisdiction in East Germany. The Church of
   St. Saviour in Sacrow and the centre of Potsdam were neglected, and
   some of the historic centre of Potsdam was demolished. The Berliner
   Stadtschloss (Berlin City Palace), containing architectural work by
   Schinkel, von Erdmannsdorff and von Knobelsdorff was demolished in
   1950. Sanssouci survived intact, and in 1986 was even used a motif on
   the 5 DDM banknote; it was the East German government that endeavoured
   to have Sanssouci placed on the list of World Heritage Sites. This was
   achieved in 1990 with the following citation:
   Sanssouci around 1900; this timeless view remains unchanged.
   Enlarge
   Sanssouci around 1900; this timeless view remains unchanged.

     The palace and park of Sanssouci, often described as the "Prussian
     Versailles", are a synthesis of the artistic movements of the 18th
     Century in the cities and courts of Europe. That ensemble is a
     unique example of the architectural creations and landscape design
     against the backdrop of the intellectual background of monarchic
     ideas of the state.

   Following the reunification of Germany, the library of Frederick was
   returned in 1992 to its former home at Sanssouci. Thirty-six oil
   paintings followed between 1993 and 1995. In 1995, the Foundation of
   Prussian Palaces and Gardens in Berlin- Brandenburg was formed. The
   organization's job is to administer and care for Sanssouci and the
   other former imperial palaces in Berlin and Brandenburg that are
   visited by over two million visitors annually from all over the world.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanssouci"
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