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Marmorpalais
The Marmorpalais (or Marble Palace) is a former royal residence in Potsdam, near Berlin in Germany, built on the grounds of the extensive '' Neuer Garten'' on the shores of the ''Heiliger See'' (lake). The palace was commissioned by King ''Friedrich Wilhelm II'' (Frederick William II of Prussia) and designed in the early Neoclassical style by the architects Carl von Gontard and Carl Gotthard Langhans. The palace remained in use by the Hohenzollern family until the early 20th century. It served as a military museum under communist rule, but has since been restored and is once again open to the public. Building history The Marmorpalais was designed by the architects Carl von Gontard and (from 1789) Carl Gotthard Langhans, the designer of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate. The Marmorpalais was reserved as a summer residence for the private use of the king, who had an artistic temperament. With this new construction the nephew and successor of Frederick the Great dissociated himself from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Garden, Potsdam
The New Garden (german: Neuer Garten) in Potsdam is a park of 102.5 hectares located southwest of Berlin, Germany, in northern Potsdam and bordering on the lakes Heiliger See and Jungfernsee. Starting in 1787, Frederick William II of Prussia (1744-1797) arranged to have a new garden laid out on this site, and the design and landscaping was carried out by Johann August Eyserbeck, who had previously worked on the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm. The New Garden, along with the Marmorpalais palace on its grounds and other Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin, palaces and parks in Potsdam and Berlin was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990 because of its unique unity of architecture and landscaping and its testimony to the power of Prussia in the 17th and 18th centuries. History When he was still crown prince, Frederick William II of Prussia procured property situated on lake Heiliger See, supplementing it later by the purchase of adjoining fruit gardens and vineyards. O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heiliger See
Heiliger See (English: Holy Lake) is a lake within the city limits of Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, located northeast of the city center and bordering the historic park known as the New Garden. Together with the lakes Sacrower See and Groß Glienicker See to the north it forms a chain of lakes resulting from a glacial tunnel valley. The lake is 1.33 km long and 300 metres wide on average. Because of its picturesque location amidst the historic parks and palaces of Potsdam, with the Marmorpalais on its west shore and Cecilienhof near the north shore, the lake is a popular goal for excursions and has an attractive residential area on its eastern shore. On the north shore there are informal places for swimming and sunbathing, as well as a connection to Lake Jungfernsee and thus to the Havel River’s extensive network of waterways via the Hasengraben, a short canal where the water is kept dammed up to maintain a high water level for the lake. This is done to keep the wooden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick William II Of Prussia
Frederick William II (german: Friedrich Wilhelm II.; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and (via the Orange-Nassau inheritance of his grandfather) sovereign prince of the Canton of Neuchâtel. Pleasure-loving and indolent, he is seen as the antithesis to his predecessor, Frederick the Great. (Frederick II). Under his reign, Prussia was weakened internally and externally, and he failed to deal adequately with the challenges to the existing order posed by the French Revolution. His religious policies were directed against the Enlightenment and aimed at restoring a traditional Protestantism. However, he was a patron of the arts and responsible for the construction of some notable buildings, among them the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven all dedicated works to him. Early life Frederick William was born in Berlin, the son of Prince Augus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of Berlin, and lies embedded in a hilly morainic landscape dotted with many lakes, around 20 of which are located within Potsdam's city limits. It lies some southwest of Berlin's city centre. The name of the city and of many of its boroughs are of Slavic origin. 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, its lakes, and its overall historical and cultural significance. Landmarks include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Von Gontard
Carl Philipp Christian von Gontard (13 January 1731 in Mannheim – 23 September 1791 in Breslau) was a German architect who worked primarily in Berlin, Potsdam, and Bayreuth in the style of late Baroque Classicism. Next to Knobelsdorff he was considered the most important architect of the era of Frederick the Great of Prussia.Drescher, Horst, "Gontard, Carl Philipp Christian von" in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 6 (1964), S. 643 f.; RL: http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/ppn119014807.htmlOnline version (in German)] Carl von Gontard descended from a Huguenot family living in the French province of Dauphiné. He married Sophia von Erckert and had numerous children, including Carl Friedrich Ludwig von Gontard, a Prussian army officer who was granted hereditary nobility by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II. After two years of study in Paris under Jacques-François Blondel and a lengthy sojourn in Italy he gained a reputation as a valued court architect to Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margrav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prussian Palaces And Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg
The Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (german: Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg; SPSG) was founded by a treaty of 23 August 1994 between the German federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg as a public foundation following German reunification. The treaty came into force on 1 January 1995. The foundation is separate from the considerably larger Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (''Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz''). History The SPSG is an amalgamation of the Potsdam-Sanssouci State Palaces and Gardens (''Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Potsdam-Sanssouci'') in the former East Germany and the State Palaces and Gardens Administration (''Verwaltung der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten'') in West Berlin that had been formed following the division of Germany. These institutions were formed from the Prussian State Palaces and Gardens Administration that had been founded on 1 April 1927 as a result of the apportionment o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Gotthard Langhans
Carl Gotthard Langhans (15 December 1732 – 1 October 1808) was a Prussian master builder and royal architect. His churches, palaces, grand houses, interiors, city gates and theatres in Silesia (now Poland), Berlin, Potsdam and elsewhere belong to the earliest examples of Neoclassical architecture in Germany. His best-known work is the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, national symbol of today’s Germany and German reunification in 1989/90. Life Langhans was born in Landeshut, Silesia (now Kamienna Góra in Poland). He was not educated as an architect. He studied law from 1753 to 1757 in Halle, and then mathematics and languages, and engaged himself autodidactically with architecture, at which he concentrated primarily on the antique texts of the Roman architecture theorist Vitruvius (and the new version by the classics enthusiast Johann Joachim Winckelmann whose works prompted the Greek Revival). His draft for "Zum Schifflein Christi" (1764), the Protestant Church in Groà ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaces And Parks Of Potsdam And Berlin
Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin (german: Schlösser und Gärten von Potsdam und Berlin) are a group of palace complexes and extended landscape gardens located in the Havelland region around Potsdam and the German capital of Berlin. The term was used upon the designation of the cultural ensemble as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990. It was recognized for the historic unity of its landscape—a unique example of landscape design against the background of monarchic ideas of the Prussian state and common efforts of emancipation. Extent Initially, the world heritage site encompassed 500 hectares, covering 150 construction projects, which spanned the years from 1730 to 1916. Until the Peaceful Revolution of 1989, these areas were separated by the Berlin Wall, running between Potsdam and West Berlin, and several historic sites were destructed by 'death strip' border fortifications. Two stages of extension to the World Heritage Site, in 1992, and 1999 led to the incorporation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pfaueninsel
Pfaueninsel (, "Peafowl, Peacock Island") is an island in the River Havel situated in Berlin-Wannsee, in the district of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in southwestern Berlin, near the border with Potsdam in Brandenburg. The island is part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its outstanding Prussian architecture, and is a popular destination for day-trippers. Pfaueninsel is also a nature reserve in accordance with the EU Habitats Directive and a Special Protection Area for wild birds. Geography Pfaueninsel is an island of in the river Havel, situated between Kladow to the west and Wannsee to the east and downriver from the Großer Wannsee, in Berlin, Germany. Further downstream ist the Jungfernsee. The island is mostly woodland with some open areas, including lawns and fields. The total size of the protected area, including some water-covered areas, is . History In the late 17th century the island was called ''Kaninchenwerder'' ("Rabbit Isl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilhelmine Von Lichtenau
The Wilhelmine Period () comprises the period of German history between 1890 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the resignation of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck until the end of World War I and Wilhelm's abdication during the November Revolution. It affected the society, politics, culture, art and architecture of Germany and roughly coincided with the Belle Époque era of Western Europe. Overview The term "Wilhelminism" (''Wilhelminismus'') is not meant as a conception of society associated with the name Wilhelm and traceable to an intellectual initiative of the German Emperor. Rather, it relates to the image presented by Wilhelm II and his demeanour, as manifested by the public presentation of grandiose military parades and self-aggrandisement on his part. The latter tendency had already been noticed by his grandfather, Emperor Wilhelm I, while the latter's father, later Frederick III, was Crown Prince. Wilhelminism also characterizes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlottenburg Palace
Schloss Charlottenburg (Charlottenburg Palace) is a Baroque palace in Berlin, located in Charlottenburg, a district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much lavish internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. A large formal garden surrounded by woodland was added behind the palace, including a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a pavilion. During the Second World War, the palace was badly damaged but has since been reconstructed. The palace with its gardens is a major tourist attraction. History Palace The original palace was commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich I, Elector of Brandenburg in what was then the village of Lietzow. Named ''Lietzenburg'', the palace was designed by Johann Arnold Nering in baroque style. It consisted of one wing and was built in storeys with a central cupola. The façade was decorated with Corinthian p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spree (river)
The Spree ( ; wen, Sprjewja, cs, Spréva) is, with a length of approximately , the main tributary of the River Havel. The Spree is much longer than the Havel, which it flows into at Berlin-Spandau; the Havel then flows into the Elbe at Havelberg. The river rises in the Lusatian Highlands, that are part of the Sudetes, in the Lusatian part of Saxony, where it has three sources: the historical one called ''Spreeborn'' in the village of Spreedorf, the water-richest one in Neugersdorf, and the highest elevated one in Eibau. The Spree then flows northwards through Upper and Lower Lusatia, where it crosses the border between Saxony and Brandenburg. After passing through Cottbus, it forms the Spree Forest, a large inland delta and biosphere reserve. It then flows through Lake Schwielochsee before entering Berlin, as '' Müggelspree'' The Spree is the main river of Berlin, Brandenburg, Lusatia, and the settlement area of the Sorbs, who call the River Sprjewja. For a very short d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
