Sanssouci Park
Encyclopedia
Sanssouci
Sanssouci is the name of the former summer 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...
Palace in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in the structure. A baroque flower garden
Flower garden
A flower garden is any garden where flowers are grown for decorative purposes. Because flowers bloom at varying times of the year, and some plants are annual, dying each winter, the design of flower gardens can take into consideration to maintain a sequence of bloom and even of consistent color...
with lawn
Lawn
A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...
s, flower beds
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
, hedges and trees was created. In the hedge quarter 3,000 fruit trees were planted. The greenhouses of the numerous nurseries
Nursery (horticulture)
A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size. They include retail nurseries which sell to the general public, wholesale nurseries which sell only to businesses such as other nurseries and to commercial gardeners, and private nurseries which supply the needs of...
contained oranges
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
, melon
Melon
thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...
s, peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
es and banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
s. The goddesses Flora
Flora (mythology)
In Roman mythology, Flora was a goddess of flowers and the season of spring. While she was otherwise a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several fertility goddesses, her association with the spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime...
and Pomona
Pomona
Pomona was a goddess of fruitful abundance in ancient Roman religion and myth. Her name comes from the Latin word pomum, "fruit," specifically orchard fruit. She was said to be a wood nymph and a part of the Numia, guardian spirits who watch over people, places, or homes...
, who decorate the entrance obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
at the eastern park exit, were placed there to highlight the connection of a flower, fruit and vegetable garden.
Overview
With the expansion of the site after the creation of more buildings, a 2.5 km long straight main avenue was built. It began in the east at the 1748 obelisk and over the years was extended all the way to the New Palace, which marks its end in the west. In 1764 the picture gallery was constructed, followed by the New Chambers in 1774. They flank the palace and open the alley up to rondelRondel
Rondel may refer to:* Rondel or roundel, type of medieval dagger...
s with the fountains, surrounded by marble statues. From there paths lead in a star pattern between tall hedges to further parts of the gardens.
In his organisation of the park, Frederick continued what he had begun in Neuruppin
Neuruppin
Neuruppin is a town in Brandenburg, Germany. Located on the shore of Ruppiner See , it is the capital of the district of Ostprignitz-Ruppin. Population: 32,800 .-Overview:...
and Rheinsberg
Rheinsberg
Rheinsberg is a town and a municipality in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated on the river Rhin, approx. 20 km north-east of Neuruppin and 75 km north-west of Berlin.-History:...
. During his stay as Crown Prince in Neuruppin, where he was commander of a regiment from 1732 to 1735, he ordered that a flower, fruit and vegetable garden be laid out in the grounds of his abode. He already deviated here from the classical organisation of baroque gardens, which concerned themselves purely with the model represented by Versailles, by combining the beautiful and the useful. He also followed this principle in Rheinsberg. Apart from the transformation of the palace, which Frederick received as a present from his father Frederick William I in 1734, he ordered the establishment of fruit and vegetable garden areas enclosed by hedges. In addition the central avenue and a larger intersecting avenue did not lead directly to the palace, as was usual in French parks of the era, but took off from the south wing and at a right angle to the building.
Neptune Grotto
thumb|Neptune GrottoThe Neptune Grotto close to the Obelisk entrance in Sanssouci Park, Potsdam, was created by Frederick the Great between 1751 and 1757 to beautify the park....
, finished in 1757 in the eastern part of the park, was used just as little for its intended function as the fountain facilities. Atop the Ruinenberg, roughly six hundred metres away, was a water basin from which no water could arrive into the park and because of the "fountaineers"' lack of expertise the project failed.
It did not succeed until steam power
Steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
was employed one hundred years later, and thus the purpose of the water reservoir was finally fulfilled. In October 1842 an 81.4 horsepower
Horsepower
Horsepower is the name of several units of measurement of power. The most common definitions equal between 735.5 and 750 watts.Horsepower was originally defined to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses in continuous operation. The unit was widely adopted to measure the...
steam engine built by August Borsig
August Borsig
Johann Friedrich August Borsig was a German businessman who founded the Borsig-Werke factory.Borsig was born in Breslau , the son of cuirassier and carpenter foreman Johann George Borsig...
started working and made the water jet of the Great Fountain below the vineyard terraces rise to a height of 38 metres. A pumping station on the Havelbucht was especially built for this machine. It was commissioned by Frederick William IV and built by Ludwig Persius between 1841 and 1843, "in the manner of a Turkish Mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
with a minaret as a chimney".
Many years earlier, Frederick William III had acquired an area which bordered Sanssouci Park to the south and given it to his son Frederick William IV for Christmas in 1825. There Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Ludwig Persius built Charlottenhof Palace
Charlottenhof Palace
Charlottenhof Palace is located southwest of Sanssouci Palace in Sanssouci Park at Potsdam, Germany. It is most famous as the summer residence of Crown Prince Frederick William...
on the site of a former farm house and Peter Joseph Lenné
Peter Joseph Lenné
Peter Joseph Lenné was a Prussian gardener and landscape architect from Bonn who worked in the German classicist style.-Childhood and development:...
was commissioned with the garden design. With the baroque flower and fruit and vegetable gardens from the Frederician era in mind, the garden architect converted the flat and partly swampy grounds into an open landscape park. Broad meadows created visual avenues between Charlottenhof, the Roman Baths
Roman Baths (Potsdam)
The Roman Baths , northeast of the Charlottenhof Palace in the Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, reflect the Italiensehnsucht of its creator Frederick William IV of Prussia...
and the New Palace with the Temple of Friendship
Temple of Friendship
The Temple of Friendship is a small, round temple in the western part of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam. It was built by the Prussian king Frederick II in memory of his favorite sister, Markgravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth, who died in 1758...
developed from the time of Frederick the Great. Casually placed groups of bushes and trees and a moat that was broadened into a pond at its southeastern end beautify the large park. Lenné used the materials excavated to create the pond to construct a gentle hilly area landscape where the paths meet in the shape of stars at the high points.
Buildings in Sanssouci Park
- The New Chambers
- The Neptune GrottoNeptune Grottothumb|Neptune GrottoThe Neptune Grotto close to the Obelisk entrance in Sanssouci Park, Potsdam, was created by Frederick the Great between 1751 and 1757 to beautify the park....
- The Antique TempleAntique TempleThe Antique Temple is a small round temple in the west part of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam. Frederick the Great had the building constructed to house his collection of antique artifacts, coins and antique gems. Carl von Gontard created the building in 1768/69 near the New Palace north of the...
- The Obelisk entrance and the ObeliskObelisk (Sanssouci)The Obelisk entrance constitutes the eastern limit of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany. Following plans by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, Frederick the Great ordered in 1747 that this exit from the park be built....
- The collection of artistic ruins on the Ruinenberg
- BelvedereBelvedere auf dem KlausbergThe Belvedere auf dem Klausberg is a building in Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany.-Architecture:Georg Christian Unger based his plans on a drawing by the Italian archeologist Francesco Bianchini from his 1738 volume Del Palazzo de' Cesari. Biancini had tried to reconstruct the Imperial Palace on...
on the Klausberg - Charlottenhof PalaceCharlottenhof PalaceCharlottenhof Palace is located southwest of Sanssouci Palace in Sanssouci Park at Potsdam, Germany. It is most famous as the summer residence of Crown Prince Frederick William...
- The Roman BathsRoman Baths (Potsdam)The Roman Baths , northeast of the Charlottenhof Palace in the Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, reflect the Italiensehnsucht of its creator Frederick William IV of Prussia...
- The Church of PeaceChurch of Peace (Sanssouci)The Protestant Church of Peace is situated in the Marly Gardens on the Green Fence in the palace grounds of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany. 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...
with the neighbouring group of buildings - The Orangery PalaceOrangery PalaceThe Orangery Palace is also known as the New Orangery on the Klausberg, or just the Orangery. It was built by the Romantic on the Throne, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, in his seat of Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, from 1851 to 1864.-Background:...
or the New OrangeryOrangery PalaceThe Orangery Palace is also known as the New Orangery on the Klausberg, or just the Orangery. It was built by the Romantic on the Throne, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, in his seat of Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, from 1851 to 1864.-Background:...
on the Klausberg - The Picture GallerySanssouci Picture GalleryThe Picture Gallery in the park of Sanssouci palace in Potsdam was built in 1755–1764 during the reign of Frederick II of Prussia under the supervision of Johann Gottfried Büring. The Picture Gallery is situated east of the palace and is the oldest extant museum built for a ruler in...
- The Kaiserbahnhof at Potsdam Park Sanssouci railway stationPotsdam Park Sanssouci railway stationPotsdam Park Sanssouci is a German railway station located in Potsdam, the Brandenburger capital city on the Berlin-Potsdam-Magdeburg line. Named Potsdam Wildpark until 1999, it serves the Sanssouci Park and is famous for the Kaiserbahnhof building....
Points of interest
- Botanischer Garten PotsdamBotanischer Garten PotsdamThe Botanischer Garten Potsdam , also known as the Botanischer Garten der Universität Potsdam, is a botanical garden and arboretum maintained by the University of Potsdam...
, a botanical gardenBotanical gardenA botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
established in 1950
Sources
- Paul Sigel, Silke Dähmlow, Frank Seehausen und Lucas Elmenhorst, Architekturführer Potsdam - Architectural Guide, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-496-01325-7.