Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
here's a café inside (see p.174). Southwest of the Drachenhaus, a pathway leads to the
Antikentempel
, built in 1768 to house part of Frederick the Great's art collection. his
domed rotunda is now the last resting place of a number of Hohenzollerns, including
the Empress Auguste Victoria, and Hermine, whom Wilhelm II married in exile, and
who became known as the “last Empress”.
Neues Palais
Wed-Mon: April-Oct 10am-6pm; Nov-March Wed-Mon 10am-5pm • €8
Rising through the trees at the western end of Park Sanssoucci, the
Neues Palais
is another
massive Rococo extravaganza from Frederick the Great's time, built between 1763 and
1769 to rea
rm Prussian might after the Seven Years' War. At the centre of the palace is
a huge green-weathered dome, topped by a crown, while the edges of the roof around the
entire building are adorned by lines of Classical figures, mass-produced by a team of
sculptors. he main entrance is in the western facade, and once inside, you'll find the
interior predictably opulent, particularly as you enter the vast and startling
Grottensaal
on
the ground floor, which is decorated entirely with shells and semi-precious stones to form
images of lizards and dragons. he equally huge
Marmorsaal
is the other highlight, with
its beautiful floor of patterned marble slabs. he southern wing contains Frederick's
apartments and theatre where he enjoyed Italian opera and French plays. he last imperial
resident of the Neues Palais was Kaiser Wilhelm II, who packed sixty train carriages with
the palace contents before fleeing with his family in November 1918, following the
revolution and abdication. Facing the Neues Palais entrance are the
Communs
, a couple
of Rococo fantasies joined by a curved colonnade. hey look grandiose, but their purpose
was mundane: they housed the palace's serving and maintenance staff.
11
Rehgarten and Park Charlottenhof
From the Neues Palais, Ökonomieweg leads east between the
Rehgarten
or Deer
Garden, the former court hunting ground (and still home to a few deer) and
Park
Charlottenhof
, created by Friedrich Wilhelm III as a Christmas present for his son,
and today one of Sanssouci's quieter corners.
A path leads over a bridge past a small farm building to the
Römische Bäder
(May-Oct
Tues-Sun 10am-5pm; €4), built by Schinkel and Persius in convincing imitation of a
Roman villa. Across the lawns to the south is
Schloss Charlottenhof
(May-Oct Tues-Sun
10am-6pm; €4), another Roman-style building, again designed by Schinkel and Persius
for Friedrich IV. hough designated a palace, it is, in reality, little more than a glorified
villa, but its interior, unlike most Sanssouci buildings, is original. he effect is impressive:
the hallway is bathed in blue light filtered through coloured glass decorated with stars, a
prelude to the
Kupferstichzimmer
, or print room, whose walls are now covered in copies of
Italian Renaissance paintings. Immediately east of Schloss Charlottenhof is the
Dichterhain
(Poets' Grove), an open space dotted with busts of Goethe, Schiller and Herder, among
others. West of here through the woods and across a racetrack-shaped clearing called the
Hippodrom
is the
Fasanerie
, another Italian-style edifice built between 1842 and 1844.
On the Ökonomieweg - en route back to the Grünes Gitter entrance - you'll pass the
slightly kitsch
Chinesisches Haus (
May-Oct Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; €2), a kind of
Rococo pagoda housing a small museum of Chinese and Meissen porcelain and
surrounded by eerily lifelike statues of Oriental figures.
Neuer Garten
Immediately northeast of Potsdam's centre lies the
Neuer Garten,
a large park where
the
Marmorpalais
(Marble Palace) was built for Friedrich Wilhelm II. He died a
premature death here in 1797, allegedly as a consequence of his dissolute lifestyle.
he palace has now been restored to an approximation of its original royal condition
and the sumptuous rooms can be seen (March-Oct Tues-Sun 10am-6pm; Nov-March
Sat & Sun 10am-4pm; April Sat & Sun 10am-6pm; €5).
