Sanssouci Palace
Sanssouci, meaning “without care” in French, is arguably Potsdam Park’s most notable feature and attracts 300,000 visitors to Potsdam each year. Its story begins in August 1743, when Frederick the Great and a group of others set out on horseback for a picnic. “Yesterday we picnicked atop the hill, from where the view is delightful.” The King’s initial plan for a vineyard grew into a desire for a summer residence.
It is unclear when exactly the King thought of building a hilltop palace, but the foundation stone was laid on April 14, 1745. Two years later, the King took up residence in his newly constructed palace. The Spenersche Zeitung reported that “His Majesty the King yesterday took up residence in his newly built and exceptionally splendid summer summer palace of Sanssouci outside Potsdam, and there lunched at a table laid for 200…” (Wesch 4).
The palace sits atop a hill layered terraces of vines and a grand staircase. Frederick II’s architect, Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, was the foremost architect in the 18th century and already knew the King from when Frederick was still Crown Prince. Knobelsdorff, trained in the classical forms of antiquity and contemporary French style, designed a palace with a lightness and elegance that epitomized Rococo style.
The sight from the vineyard emphasizes the official character of the palace: at Sanssouci, Frederick the Great was a clever and witty host, but primarily, he was King.