One of the landmarks I most wanted to visit during my trip was Frederick the Great's summer palace retreat of Sans Souci ("Without Cares") in Potsdam. (More on my reasons for this below.) The grounds of Sanssouci Park cover 290 hectares and comprise a complex of palaces and gardens. With its vineyard terraces the central Schloß Sanssouci seen below is the oldest part of the complex. From 1744 Frederick had the former "Wüster Berg" terraced, and in 1745 Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff began work on the main single story building in the rococo style based on sketches made by Frederick the Great.
Sanssouci was less of a royal court and more of a home-away-from-home, where Frederick could get away from the problems and duties of his position (hence the palace's name). Here he could relax and engage his passions for art, philosophy, and music. I saw the music room which had one of Frederick's flutes and a gorgeous ornate music stand, where Frederick would perform his own compositions and those of his music instructor, Johann Joachim Quantz. A frequent guest here was the French author Voltaire, who had his own reserved bedroom. Frederick and Voltaire could converse readily because Frederick actually spoke French almost exclusively. German was more or less the peasants' language, and Frederick only knew enough of it to get by. French was the language of nobility, of intellectuals, and of the Enlightenment.
Although I also took the guided tour of the palace, regrettably they would not allow photographs or video to be taken on the inside. Hence I can't show any of the neat artifacts or beautiful decor of the interior. In addition to the ornate music stand and flute mentioned above, inside the palace hall there is the actual chair in which Frederick finally died from the lingering ill health that had plagued him much of his life. We also saw the very simple, military-style bed that was in a small alcove adjacent to Frederick's study. Although the decor of the study and the rest of Sanssouci is still more splendid than anything I am likely to every occupy, it was interesting to contrast the relative simplicity of this bed and the rest of the palace with the gaudy monstrosities of "Mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria's Linderhof Palace (built over a century later than Sanssouci).
The photos below are arranged such that the top row are all pictures taken with my digital still camera, and the lower row are some additional views I framegrabbed from my video footage of the palace and the grounds (which I spent most of my time taping). As such the lower row of photos are at lower resolution and are somewhat more grainy than those in the top row.
Although I have an interest in Frederick because of his interesting history, I also wanted to see Sans Souci for another reason. In my favorite Japanese animated SF series, Legend of the Galactic Heroes, the Galactic Empire is a bit like 18th century Prussia in space. The Empire is ruled by the Kaiser, Friederich IV, descendant of the first Kaiser Rudolf von Goldenbaum, from the Imperial Palace "Neue Sanssouci". However, as you can see if you look at that last link, the Neue Sanssouci of the animation is very much larger than the real Sanssouci, looking more akin to Paris' Versailles or Vienna's Schönbrunn palaces than to Frederick's little home from home.
Sans Souci Main Hall Exterior |
me @ Sans Souci |
grave of Frederick the Great |
Frederick's dogs |
me and Frederick |
Sans Souci Garden |
Sans Souci fountain |
Sans Souci side |
Sans Souci Art Gallery |
Chinese House |