DAY 3, April 14, 2019, Sunday:
Potsdam’s Sanssouci is a relaxing
royal treat only 30 minutes away by train from bustling Berlin.
.Situated on the River Havel 24 km (15 miles) southwest of Berlin's city center. Potsdam was a residence of the Prussian kings and the German Kaiser until 1918.
.Situated on the River Havel 24 km (15 miles) southwest of Berlin's city center. Potsdam was a residence of the Prussian kings and the German Kaiser until 1918.
"A picturesque, pastoral
dream" the parks and palaces of Sanssouci, are the
largest World Heritage Site in Germany
Sanssouci was the summer palace
of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, built between
1745 and 1747 . It is often counted as
the German Versailles. Also at Sanssouci is the splendid Neues
Palace (New Palace), added to commemorate the end of the Seven Year’s
War, a reconstructed Dutch windmill, the Orangerie, which houses a
gallery, and the Drachenhaus (Dragon House), a pagoda-style building
The palace's name is a French phrase
(sans souci), which translates as "without concerns",
"without worries" or "carefree", symbolising that
the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power. Friedrich the Great was renowned for
his modesty, epitomised in his saying “A crown is merely a hat that
lets the rain in”.
is the official site
Palace Sanssouci (closed Monday) has time stamped entrance and is very popular so it is important to get our spot early. Another must-see, Neues Palace (closed Tuesday) is on the other end of the huge gardens and a bit of walk, In April, Neues Palace, Orangerie palace, New Chamber, Historic mill, Picture gallery etc are open only on weekends. So we scheduled it for Sunday.
one single 7 day pass ABC served for all transport for the both of us as it was the weekend
Palace Sanssouci (closed Monday) has time stamped entrance and is very popular so it is important to get our spot early. Another must-see, Neues Palace (closed Tuesday) is on the other end of the huge gardens and a bit of walk, In April, Neues Palace, Orangerie palace, New Chamber, Historic mill, Picture gallery etc are open only on weekends. So we scheduled it for Sunday.
one single 7 day pass ABC served for all transport for the both of us as it was the weekend
From central Berlin, S-Bahn S7 line
goes to Potsdam main train station in about 40 minutes,
where the bus/tram terminal just outside the MAIN entrance has choices of public transportation to the Park. bus 695, X5, 650 or 614 and get off at the Stop 'Schloss
Sanssouci' for a few minutes walk to the main
ticket office. A 19 Euro day pass (plus 3 Euro for photo license) allows entry into all palaces/galleries plus the free
gardens. Mp with all options here...
The quickest way to get there is to
take the regional train that has a stop at Park Sanssouci station
after the main station (Hbf) in Potsdam.. The regional trains
are quite a bit quicker than the S Bahn.
7.11/8.11 RE 1 (3108) Direction:
Magdeburg-Buckau goes only to potsdam hbf, you shd change to
another for onward. (4 stops) Berlin zoo, Berlin
Charlottenburg, Wannsee, Potsdam
7.41 /8.41RE 1 (3164) Direction:
Brandenburg Hbf goes on from potsdam hbf to Charlottenhof, then goes
on to Potsdam Park Sanssouci stop . The Neues
Palais is then a shortish walk 1 km
Both from platform 14 Berlin
hbf at our period of stay. We decided to use the regional train as we stayed just opposite the station. Also decided to visit Neues palais first and then walk to SansSoucci palace. Proved to be a great decision. It was easy commute and we loved the Baroque Neues palais... had it almost to ourselves
We got on the train to Potsdam station. Then we transferred to another train calling at Potsdam Park Sanssouci stop from where we walked to the Park entrance. There were signs. we reached the park and saw huge sign for tickets and entered the souvenir shop.
It was drizzling and cold. We had come in early to enjoy the gardens, that was not to be. We watched the intro movie at the shop, and waited till they opened the counter to buy the combo ticket
We got on the train to Potsdam station. Then we transferred to another train calling at Potsdam Park Sanssouci stop from where we walked to the Park entrance. There were signs. we reached the park and saw huge sign for tickets and entered the souvenir shop.
It was drizzling and cold. We had come in early to enjoy the gardens, that was not to be. We watched the intro movie at the shop, and waited till they opened the counter to buy the combo ticket
Neues Palais:
This is the Grotto Hall, with walls encrusted with shells, stones, marble, quartz and semi-precious stones. Part of the design of the Groto Hall is a marble floor depicting marine animals and plants and an 1806 ceiling painting, Venus and Amor, the Three Graces and Putti. Niches around the room contain statuary and fountains, with cut crystal chandeliers hung in the arches.
Then we go on into the apartments of the King
This is the Marble Hall, the largest of the
festival halls, which was used variously as a ballroom and as a
banqueting hall.
The richly gilt, curved ceiling rises into the attic
area under the great copper dome. The painting in the center of this
ceiling, The Induction of Ganymede in Olympus, was
created in 1769 With a surface of 240 square meters, it is the
largest canvas ceiling painting north of the Alps. Four enormous
paintings commissioned before the Seven Years' War adorn the marble
walls of the hall.
Positioned at the pilasters are twelve statues,
depicting eight Brandenburg Prince-electors and four famous
"emperors": Julius Caesar, Constantine, Charlemagne and Rudolph II.
A balcony with an intricate gilt iron railing overlooks the hall from
the third floor.
We walked back to the souvenir shop, used their washroom and then walked on to Sanssoucci palace.
This is the lovely Chinese Teahouse on the way
SansSoucci in sight now
SansSoucci Palace:
After a short wait, we entered the palace at our time slot. This is Rococo style, not over the top baroque as the Neues Palais
Library: Cedarwood is used to panel the
walls and for the alcoved bookcases.
The bookcases contain 2,100 volumes of
Greek and Roman writings and historiographies and also a
collection of French literature of the 17th and 18th
centuries with a heavy emphasis on the works of Voltaire. The
books were bound in brown or red goat leather and richly gilded.
This white-and-gold
oval Marmorsaal ("Marble Hall"), is the principal
reception room, and the setting for celebrations in the palace, its
dome crowned by a cupola.
White Carrara marble is used
for the paired columns, above which stucco putti dangle their feet
from the cornice.
The dome is white with gilded ornament, and the floor is of Italian marble intarsia inlaid in compartments radiating from a central trelliswork oval.
Three arch-headed windows face the garden; opposite them, in two niches flanking the doorway, figures of Venus Urania, the goddess of free nature and life, and Apollo, the god of the arts, established the iconography of Sanssouci as a place where art was joined with nature.
The dome is white with gilded ornament, and the floor is of Italian marble intarsia inlaid in compartments radiating from a central trelliswork oval.
Three arch-headed windows face the garden; opposite them, in two niches flanking the doorway, figures of Venus Urania, the goddess of free nature and life, and Apollo, the god of the arts, established the iconography of Sanssouci as a place where art was joined with nature.
This exquisite room is The Voltaire Room or the "Flower Room" frequently occupied by the philosopher during his stay in Potsdam between 1750 and 1753.
Had our picnic meal in the collanades. It was freezing cold with blustery winds.
We warmed ourselves in the souvenir shop and then walked through the gardens to the historic mill. We entered the New Chambers
New Chambers ( Neue Kammern):
New Chambers ( Neue Kammern)
is part of the ensemble of Sanssouci palace
In the middle of the building, under
the cupola, lies the largest room, the Jasper Room.
The ballroom's walls are decorated with
red jasper and grey Silesian marble. The same
colors are found in the floor design. The ceiling painting Venus mit
ihrem Gefolge (Venus with her Retinue) was created in 1774
Decorated panels from
both antiquity and the 18th century were attached to the
background of red jasper.
The Ovid Gallery
The second, large ballroom, located in the eastern part of the New Chambers is the Ovid Gallery, decorated in the style of French mirrored rooms.
On the long side of the room is a mirror stretching almost to the ceiling, across from which, on the garden side, are French doors.
Frederick asked for the walls to be decorated with gilded reliefs of the liaisons of the ancient gods, which had been told of by the Roman poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses.
Note the awesome carved reliefs alternating the mirror panels
Then we were on our way to the historic mill
We saw the inside and even went up... all info only in German
.
Then we walked on to Schloss Orangerie. Everything well signposted. The palace exterior has awesome statues in niches. We got tickets for the Tour of the palace and climb to the tower showing our combo ticket
Schloss Orangerie:
We went in with a German tour. We had English info in laminated form. We wore huge slippers over our shoes, to protect the lovely Parquet floor
Raphael room was the highlight
Lovely malachite room here
Porcelain
Then we went for the tower climb... a bit of waste of energy and time
We had no energy for schloss Cecilienhof, 2.6 km away. We decided to walk back to the garden of Sanssoucci which we had no time to enjoy when we rushed to keep our time slot
Lovely old town... would require quite a few hours to do justice
A km later, saw a tram heading to the train station at a stop. Hopped on, reached the station. Checked the electronic boards, and headed to a platform where a train to Berlin was headed.
Reached Berlin
It had been an AWESOME day.
The next day would be GREAT too!
Report of our day trip to Hamburg's Miniatur Wunderland is here:
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