Potsdam
The city of new ideas, new cinemas and new world - Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin 532
What and Why
When my wife was serving as a travel consultant, she did tell me that one of the places that she fancied most was Potsdam, and that was amongst many cities she had been to and would take me there. I had been rather skeptical about this until I saw it myself, not that I did not trust her words. I have to confess that she was true to her words that the city was just simply beautifully landscaped and marvellously built. Every few minutes walk we would pause a bit and take out our phone and take a photograph and utter, 'Oh! That's beautiful!'. That is Potsdam in a nutshell.
Bordered with Southwest Berlin, on the banks and islands of the River Havel, Potsdam feels at first like a pleasant German city landscaped by water, parks and elegant buildings. As we walked along then you start walking: a palace appeared, then came a park, then came a windmill and then a Dutch-looking street. Just as we were appreciating and admiring all the natural and artificial beauties, deep inside me I was always prepared to explore why the city had become the setting for one of the most consequential political meetings in the 20th-century, the Potsdam Conference (German: Potsdamer Konferenz). So after the day-trip in Potsdam, I discovered that underneath the greenery is a remarkably dense potpourri of history of monarchy, war, diplomacy, arts, architecture and culture, all blended into the island. More specifically the city was identified as the military heart of the Prussia (Preußen), the Enlightenment sanctuary of Frederick II (Friedrich II, né Friedrich von Hohenzollern), the birthplace of early 20th-century cinema, and the stage for the world-defining geopolitical negotiations at the end of World War II.
Perhaps that is really Potsdam's magical appeal.
Toponymy
The name Potsdam comes from the Old Slavic word 'poztupimi' meaning 'beneath the oaks'. While the stem '-dam' does sound like the Dutch word for 'dam', linguists have noted this is merely a phonetic coincidence.
See
Sanssouci Palace and Park (Schloss und Park Sanssouci)
We have to be honest: Everyone comes to Potsdam for Sanssouci Palace and Park (Schloss und Park Sanssouci). Naturally this was our first station, which is literally the heart of Potsdam’s cultural identity.
I have to record that my first instinct in Potsdam was that somebody had gone slightly overboard with the palace budget. Ridiculous extravagance were the words in my mind when I saw Sanssouci and perhaps the joke is actually useful because Potsdam's architectures seem almost excessive. Moreover this was built during the time when Prussia was flaunting and preparing war against Austria (Österreich), eventually leading to the Seven Years' War. I was muttering almost non-stop as I wandered what was otherwise a remarkably relaxed and beautiful palace: Where comes the money?
Commissioned by King Frederick II in the mid-18th century about ten years before the war, Sanssouci, meaning 'without worries (French: sans souci)' was designed as an intimate retreat where the monarch could escape the rigid statecraft and military duties of Prussia. The name and the palace reflected Frederick II's ambition and aspiration: he wanted to retire from the stresses from his reign and military regimes and the place would serve as his retreat. Furthermore Frederick II was a famous musician and used to play music in front of his courtiers. He was equally deeply interested in art, philosophy and literatures; and his court culture was influenced by these cultural elements from all over Europe. This would be described slightly later when we entered the palace. T
Unlike most of the other continental palaces which are usually Baroque, Sanssouci is a single-storey, intimate summer pavilion in the French Rococo (Friderizianisches Rokoko) style.
The palace sits atop a famous six-tiered terraced vineyard. The southward slope with a grand staircase was sculptured into a number of broad curved terraces faced with gated niches housing figs and vines imported from across Europe. My family actually spent quite a long time in the terrace picknicking and wandering around the terraces.
We booked our ticket to enter inside the palace at late afternoon. A simple tip: It is advisable to book your ticket in advance. When reached the ticket booth at 10 am and we were left with the last two time slots to enter the palace.
Opulence and extravagance are the two words that sprung to my mind when I saw its interior. It really contrasted with the restrained exterior facade when the interior shows the power and wealth of the monarch.
The marble hall (Marmorsaal)) of the palace interior particularly stood out for me: It was almost the striking antithesis of the relaxed name Sanssouci, as above. The other rooms all reveal Frederick II as a man of both culture and military expansion and ambition: surrounding himself with elaborate art pieces, interior designs and sculptures, while professing his reign and authority through various reliefs and paintings.
Deep underneath, Sanssouci was built as Frederick II's personal cultural sanctuary. Frederick II transformed his court and palace into a centre of Enlightenment thought, hosting philosophers, scientists, and musicians.
New Palace
Brandenburg Gate
Dutch Quarter
Saint Nicholas's Church
Cecilienhof Palace
Babelsberg
Experience, Buy and Do
Travel Suggestions and Logistics
UNESCO Inscription
References
Comments
Please share your thoughts and comments about the blog. If you need suggestions to build a travel itinerary, please let me know. More than willing to help. I would also like to build a bespoke-in-depth travel community around UNESCO WHS and ICH.
Comments