Sanssouci Palace
1 2017-05-27T11:15:18-07:00 Curtis Fletcher 3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e 8476 3 plain 2017-05-27T11:42:29-07:00 3 July 2007 [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons Wolfgang Staudt from Saarbruecken, Germany Curtis Fletcher 3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673eThis page is referenced by:
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Sanssouci Palace
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Letters that refer to or were written at Sanssouci
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Sanssouci (or Sans Souci, or Sans-Souci)
Sanssouci is the summer palace of Frederick the Great, in Potsdam (near Berlin). It is often designated as the German rival of Versailles even though it is built in the Rococo style (including numerous temples and follies in the park) and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart. The palace was designed/built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorf, between 1745 and 1747, to fulfill Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. Voltaire stayed at the Sanssouci Palace, from 1750 to 1753.
Twenty years following his creation of Sanssouci, Frederick built the New Palace in the western part of the park. The design of this far larger palace (in the Baroque style) was intended to display Frederick's power and strength to the world, and 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" (“swagger”).
Since 1990 it is a World Heritage site which enfolds the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin. See : http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/532
On August 17, 1991, on the 205th anniversary of his death and following German reunification, Frederick's casket with the mortal remains of the King, was escorted by an honour guard of the Bundeswehr (Germany’s Federal Defense), and was interred on the highest terrace of the vineyards of Sanssouci – in the tomb Frederick had planned for the purpose since 1744 – after dark, without pageantry, in accordance with his will.
Danielle Mihram, April 2017Sources
Sanssouci - a palace of timeless beauty – video: 2 :47 mins:
http://www.dw.com/en/sanssouci-a-palace-of-timeless-beauty/av-19322719
Vogtherr, Christoph Martin. “Absent love in pleasure houses: Frederick II of Prussia as art collector and patron.” Art History, vol.24, no.2, April 2001, pp. 231-246.Sanssouci appears in the following letters.Sanssouci appears in the following indexes.
