Park Sanssouci by Gerrem
The Park Sanssouci was originally an orchard near Potsdam. This was the favorite retreat of King Friedrich II - later known as Friedrich the Great. Here he could stay without worries (hence the name sans souci, which means without worry in French). In 1744 the King commissioned architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff to build a summer palace, the Schloss Sanssouci (Sanssouci Palace). Here he could leave all the formalities of the royal court behind and spend time on his hobbies like music and philosophy. In the central room, the Marmorsaal which was loosely based on the Pantheon in Rome, he would invite famous philosophers like Voltaire.The design of the Sanssouci Palace was based on sketches made by Friedrich the Great himself. The relatively small palace with only 12 rooms was completed in 1747. It is located on top of a terraced vineyard, known as the Weinberg (wine mountain). The palace is only one storey high, but beautifully decorated in rococo style.
The 700acres/287ha large park around the palace consists of several different gardens, all with their own character. The park contains many statues and fountains, the largest of them, the Große Fontäne in front of the Sanssouci Palace is 18 meters high.
For more pictures have a lokk on my Potsdam page!
