North European Plain 50 - Germany/Berlin-Potsdam 1 - Intro & Sanssouci Palace
Jun 7, 2021 10:47:55 #
POTSDAM - INTRODUCTION - Potsdam is the capital and largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It directly borders the German capital, Berlin, and is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel some 25 km / 16 mi southwest of Berlin's city center. Potsdam was a residence of the Prussian kings and the German Kaiser until 1918. Its planning embodied ideas of the Age of Enlightenment: through a careful balance of architecture and landscape, Potsdam was intended as "a picturesque, pastoral dream" which would remind its residents of their relationship with nature and reason. The city which is over 1000 years old is widely known for its palaces, lakes, and overall historical and cultural significance. Landmarks include the parks and palaces of Sanssouci, Germany's largest World Heritage Site, as well as other palaces such as the Orangery Palace, the New Palace, the Cecilienhof Palace, or the Charlottenhof Palace. Potsdam was also the location of the significant Potsdam Conference (Potsdamer Konferenz) in 1945, where the three heads of government of the USSR, the US, and the UK decided on the division of Germany following its surrender, a conference which defined Germany's history for the following 45 years. Babelsberg, in the south-eastern part of Potsdam, was already by the 1930s the home of a major film production studio and it has enjoyed success as an important center of European film production since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Filmstudio Babelsberg is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world. Potsdam developed into a center of science in Germany in the 19th century.
HISTORY - PRE- AND EARLY HISTORY - The area around Potsdam shows signs of occupancy since the Bronze Age and was part of Magna Germania as described by Tacitus. After the great migrations of the Germanic peoples, Slavs moved in and Potsdam was probably founded after the 7th century as a settlement of the Hevelli tribe centered on a castle. It was first mentioned in a document in 993 as Poztupimi, when Emperor Otto III gifted the territory to the Quedlinburg Abbey, then led by his aunt Matilda. By 1317, it was mentioned as a small town. It gained its town charter in 1345. In 1573, it was still a small market town of 2,000 inhabitants.
EARLY MODERN ERA - Potsdam lost nearly half of its population due to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). A continuous Hohenzollern possession since 1415, Potsdam became prominent, when it was chosen in 1660 as the hunting residence of Frederick William I, the core of the powerful state that later became the Kingdom of Prussia. After the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Potsdam became a center of European immigration. Its religious freedom attracted people from France (Huguenots), Russia, the Netherlands and Bohemia. The edict accelerated population growth and economic recovery. Later, the city became a full residence of the Prussian royal family. The buildings of the royal residences were constructed mainly during the reign of Frederick the Great. One of these is the Sanssouci Palace (French: "without cares") built 1744, famed for its formal gardens and Rococo interiors. Other royal residences include the New Palace and the Orangery. In 1815, at the formation of the Province of Brandenburg, Potsdam became the provincial capital until 1918, except for a period between 1827 and 1843 when Berlin was the provincial capital (as it became once again after 1918). The province comprised two governorates named after their capitals Potsdam and Frankfurt on the Oder. Between 1815 and 1945, the city of Potsdam served as capital of the governorate of Potsdam.
20TH CENTURY - Berlin was the capital of Prussia and later of the German Empire, but the court remained in Potsdam, where many government officials settled. In 1914, Emperor Wilhelm II signed the Declaration of War in the Neues Palais (New Palace). The city lost its status as a "second capital" in 1918, when Wilhelm II abdicated and Germany became a Republic at the end of World War I. At the start of the Third Reich in 1933 there was a ceremonial handshake between President Paul von Hindenburg and the new Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 21 March 1933 in Potsdam's Garrison Church in what became known as the "Day of Potsdam", symbolizing a coalition of the military (Reichswehr) and Nazism. Potsdam was severely damaged by Allied bombing raids during World War II. The Cecilienhof Palace was the scene of the Potsdam Conference from 17 July to 2 August 1945, at which the victorious Allied leaders Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met to decide the future of Germany and postwar Europe in general. The conference ended with the Potsdam Agreement and the Potsdam Declaration. Potsdam, south-west of Berlin, lay just outside West Berlin after the construction of the Berlin Wall. The walling off of West Berlin not only isolated Potsdam from West Berlin, but also doubled commuting times to East Berlin. The Glienicke Bridge across the Havel connected the city to West Berlin and was the scene of some Cold War exchanges of spies. After German reunification, Potsdam became the capital of the newly re-established state of Brandenburg. Since then there have been many ideas and efforts to reconstruct the original appearance of the city, including the Potsdam City Palace and the Garrison Church.
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In today's set we start the visit to the Sanssouci Palace from the visitors entrance, pass by the historic windmill and the rather small Sanssouci Palace and then descend the terraced gardens to the base of the stairs with the great fountain surrounded by marble statues.
SANSSOUCI SUMMER PALACE - Sanssouci (French for "without worries") is little more than a large, single-story villa, built from 1745-1747 by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia as his summer palace and private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. Containing just ten principal rooms, it was built on the brow of a terraced hill at the center of the park. The influence of King Frederick's personal taste in the design and decoration of the palace was so great that its style is characterized as "Frederician Rococo". The town of Potsdam, with its palaces, was a favorite place of residence for the German imperial family until the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty in 1918.
Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction, maps and information for the entire series. Find it at:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-693834-1.html
EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105
Thank you for visiting, I recommend viewing the downloads and look forward to your comments and questions.
.
HISTORY - PRE- AND EARLY HISTORY - The area around Potsdam shows signs of occupancy since the Bronze Age and was part of Magna Germania as described by Tacitus. After the great migrations of the Germanic peoples, Slavs moved in and Potsdam was probably founded after the 7th century as a settlement of the Hevelli tribe centered on a castle. It was first mentioned in a document in 993 as Poztupimi, when Emperor Otto III gifted the territory to the Quedlinburg Abbey, then led by his aunt Matilda. By 1317, it was mentioned as a small town. It gained its town charter in 1345. In 1573, it was still a small market town of 2,000 inhabitants.
EARLY MODERN ERA - Potsdam lost nearly half of its population due to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). A continuous Hohenzollern possession since 1415, Potsdam became prominent, when it was chosen in 1660 as the hunting residence of Frederick William I, the core of the powerful state that later became the Kingdom of Prussia. After the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Potsdam became a center of European immigration. Its religious freedom attracted people from France (Huguenots), Russia, the Netherlands and Bohemia. The edict accelerated population growth and economic recovery. Later, the city became a full residence of the Prussian royal family. The buildings of the royal residences were constructed mainly during the reign of Frederick the Great. One of these is the Sanssouci Palace (French: "without cares") built 1744, famed for its formal gardens and Rococo interiors. Other royal residences include the New Palace and the Orangery. In 1815, at the formation of the Province of Brandenburg, Potsdam became the provincial capital until 1918, except for a period between 1827 and 1843 when Berlin was the provincial capital (as it became once again after 1918). The province comprised two governorates named after their capitals Potsdam and Frankfurt on the Oder. Between 1815 and 1945, the city of Potsdam served as capital of the governorate of Potsdam.
20TH CENTURY - Berlin was the capital of Prussia and later of the German Empire, but the court remained in Potsdam, where many government officials settled. In 1914, Emperor Wilhelm II signed the Declaration of War in the Neues Palais (New Palace). The city lost its status as a "second capital" in 1918, when Wilhelm II abdicated and Germany became a Republic at the end of World War I. At the start of the Third Reich in 1933 there was a ceremonial handshake between President Paul von Hindenburg and the new Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 21 March 1933 in Potsdam's Garrison Church in what became known as the "Day of Potsdam", symbolizing a coalition of the military (Reichswehr) and Nazism. Potsdam was severely damaged by Allied bombing raids during World War II. The Cecilienhof Palace was the scene of the Potsdam Conference from 17 July to 2 August 1945, at which the victorious Allied leaders Harry S. Truman, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met to decide the future of Germany and postwar Europe in general. The conference ended with the Potsdam Agreement and the Potsdam Declaration. Potsdam, south-west of Berlin, lay just outside West Berlin after the construction of the Berlin Wall. The walling off of West Berlin not only isolated Potsdam from West Berlin, but also doubled commuting times to East Berlin. The Glienicke Bridge across the Havel connected the city to West Berlin and was the scene of some Cold War exchanges of spies. After German reunification, Potsdam became the capital of the newly re-established state of Brandenburg. Since then there have been many ideas and efforts to reconstruct the original appearance of the city, including the Potsdam City Palace and the Garrison Church.
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In today's set we start the visit to the Sanssouci Palace from the visitors entrance, pass by the historic windmill and the rather small Sanssouci Palace and then descend the terraced gardens to the base of the stairs with the great fountain surrounded by marble statues.
SANSSOUCI SUMMER PALACE - Sanssouci (French for "without worries") is little more than a large, single-story villa, built from 1745-1747 by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia as his summer palace and private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court. Containing just ten principal rooms, it was built on the brow of a terraced hill at the center of the park. The influence of King Frederick's personal taste in the design and decoration of the palace was so great that its style is characterized as "Frederician Rococo". The town of Potsdam, with its palaces, was a favorite place of residence for the German imperial family until the fall of the Hohenzollern dynasty in 1918.
Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction, maps and information for the entire series. Find it at:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-693834-1.html
EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105
Thank you for visiting, I recommend viewing the downloads and look forward to your comments and questions.
.
1 - Intro to Potsdam on the background of an image of the Temple of Friendship in the Sanssouci Palace park
(Download)
2 - Historic Windmill in the park (1791), it was damaged at the end of WWII and was reconstructed in 1991
(Download)
3 - Cupola of the New Chambers built in 1775, located near the windmill in the park
(Download)
4 - Trellised gazebos near the Ladies' wing of the palace, richly decorated with gilded ornaments
(Download)
5 - View predominantly of the western section of the palace, behind the green trellises at left is the Ladies' wing of the palace
(Download)
6 - Center section of the palace
(Download)
7 - Detail of a decoration on the western section of the palace
(Download)
8 - The vineyard terraces leading from the forested park to the palace
(Download)
9 - The Great Fountain (1748) at the base of the terraced gardens, surrounded by marble statues
(Download)
10 - Focusing on the fountain
(Download)
Jun 7, 2021 10:48:54 #
Jun 7, 2021 10:50:03 #
Jun 7, 2021 10:52:28 #
Jun 7, 2021 10:55:44 #
Jun 7, 2021 11:09:18 #
angler wrote:
Excellent set as always Joe.
Thank you very much Jim for your kind comment.
Jun 7, 2021 11:11:14 #
kpmac wrote:
What Jim said and I might add: Another great narrative.
Thank you very much Ken - it is the start of a new sub-section so with that comes the extra load on the narrative, I am glad to hear that you made it through it and enjoyed it, the following sets will be briefer as usual.
Jun 7, 2021 11:11:52 #
Jun 7, 2021 11:18:46 #
Jun 7, 2021 11:30:25 #
Susan yamakawa wrote:
Beautiful palace and grounds
Thank you Susan, yes a nice palace and beautiful grounds as the coming sets will hopefully show.
Jun 7, 2021 11:50:53 #
Joe, I have to say you are bringing history to life for me. Your narrative and photos together do it.
Jun 7, 2021 12:06:32 #
NMGal wrote:
Joe, I have to say you are bringing history to life for me. Your narrative and photos together do it.
Thank you Barbara for your very kind comment, I am so glad to hear that you are enjoying the combination.
Jun 7, 2021 12:28:40 #
Jun 7, 2021 12:50:08 #
jaymatt wrote:
Still enjoying seeing your travels, Joe.
Thank you very much John, I am glad to hear that!
Jun 7, 2021 14:37:48 #
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