Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [119]
Inside await about a dozen splendid rooms, the most memorable of which are the Grottensaal (Grotto Hall), a rococo delight with shells, fossils and baubles set into the walls and ceilings; the Marmorsaal, a large banquet hall of Carrara marble with a wonderful ceiling fresco; and the Jagdkammer (Hunting Chamber), with lots of dead furry things and fine gold tracery on the walls. Frederick the Great’s private apartments (Königswohnung; adult/concession €5/4; 10am, noon, 2pm & 4pm Wed-Mon Apr-Oct) can only be seen on guided tours.
On weekends, admission also includes a peak inside the Pesne-Galerie (gallery only adult/concession €2/1.50; 10am-5pm Sat & Sun Apr-Oct) with a fine selection of works by this French painter.
The Schlosstheater in the south wing is only open during concerts. The pair of lavish buildings behind the Schloss is called the Communs. It originally housed the palace servants and kitchens and is now part of Potsdam University.
Park Charlottenhof
South of the Neues Palais, Park Charlottenhof was laid out under Friedrich Wilhelm IV and now blends smoothly with Park Sanssouci. It gets a lot fewer visitors, partly because it lacks the blockbuster sights. Still, the small neoclassical Schloss Charlottenhof ( 969 4228; mandatory tour adult/concession €4/3; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun May-Oct) was modelled after a Roman villa and is actually considered one of Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s finest works. Note the Doric portico and bronze fountain to the east.
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FREDERICK’S POSTMORTEM ODYSSEY
Frederick the Great so loved Sanssouci, he gave specific instructions to be buried – next to his beloved dogs – on the highest terrace of the vineyards in front of the palace. Alas, his nephew and successor blithely ignored his request, putting him instead next to his father, the ‘Soldier King’ Friedrich Wilhelm I, in a nearby church. In WWII, the sarcophagi of both father and son were moved by German soldiers for safekeeping and, after the war, ended up in the ancestral Hohenzollern castle in southern Germany. Only after reunification, in 1991, did Frederick the Great get his final wish and was reburied in the exact spot he had personally picked out more than 250 years before. It’s marked by a simple gravestone.
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Schinkel, aided by his student Ludwig Persius, also dreamed up the nearby Römische Bäder (Roman Baths; 969 4225; adult/concession €3/2.50; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun May-Oct), a picturesque ensemble of Italian country estates and antique Roman villas. The setting next to a pond is pleasant, but don’t go out of your way to come here.
A same-day combination ticket for both sites is €5/4 per adult/concession.
Chinesisches Haus
Northeast of the Roman Baths, the adorable Chinesisches Haus (Chinese House; 969 4225; admission €2; 10am-6pm Tue-Sun May-Oct) reflects the 18th-century fascination with the Far East. It is one of the prettiest and most photographed buildings in the park, largely because of the gilded sandstone figures with oriental dress and shown sipping tea, dancing and playing musical instruments. One of the monkeys allegedly resembles Voltaire! Inside the domed circular pavilion is a precious collection of Chinese and Meissen porcelain.
ALTSTADT
Moving into old town Potsdam, the baroque Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) on Luisenplatz is actually older than its more famous cousin in Berlin. From this square, the pedestrianised Brandenburger Strasse runs east to the Sts Peter und Paul Kirche (Church of Sts Peter & Paul; 230 7990; admission free; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 11.30am-3.30pm Sun), dating from 1868. Just to the southeast on Charlottenstrasse, and once the seat of the town’s Huguenots, is the Französische Kirche (French Church, 1753).
Northwest of the churches, bounded by Friedrich-Ebert-Strasse, Hebbelstrasse, Kurfürstenstrasse and Gutenbergstrasse, is the picturesque Holländisches Viertel