Schloss 'n' Roll at Sanssouci

Sanssouci proper was Frederick the Great's (1712-1786) one-man palace, completed in 1747 and designed not to accommodate Frederick's wife and pesky courtiers, though … Voltaire was allowed a room there for a few years. It's only one story high and peeks over six enormous terraces of vines; the vines are set in alcoves and in the winter are shuttered behind French doors to protect them from the cold. Inside you can take a brief guided tour to see the Konzertzimmer, where Frederick played with his private orchestra (which included Bach at one stage) and the stately Marmorsaal ('marble salon') of flashy white Carrara marble and gold leaf. [link]

This is like a starter Schloss -- a lovely Roman-styled villa designed by Schinkel for Frederick William IV and his wife. It's truly charming and oddly intimate for a … miniature palace. The tiny doors by which the servants appeared open right next to the then-crown prince's pillows, a reminder of the peculiar relationship between royal and underling. Don't miss the eccentric Zeltzimmer, which is decked out like an Emperor's tent. [link]

These Roman Baths are Romantic with a capital R -- having been dreamed up by Ludwig Persius (who also designed the Neues Palais) and Schinkel. They're in a quiet corner … of the park and their tranquil gardens are worth a sidetrack. The buildings include the gardener's home -- a fancy tied-cottage modeled on a Renaissance Italian country house. [link]

Now this, you're probably thinking as you approach Frederick's last major addition to the park via the Hauptallee, is a Palace. A Baroque façade that's almost a quarter … of a kilometer long, ringed with 428 statues representing mythological and allegorical characters and a dome with a crown on it. Inside you can marvel at the Grottensaal with its fanciful wall decorations of lizards and dragons in sea shell and semi-precious stones and Frederick the Great's personal theater -- a far-from modest exercise in Rococo with a golden starburst on the ceiling. Behind the New Palace sit two impossibly grand matching buildings also topped with domes -- the Communs -- which actually constituted the servants quarters and are now part of Potsdam University. [link]

Another fine Italianate contribution from Frederick IV, it's more imposing close up than the Schloss itself but also a little echoing and down-at-heel just now. The long … wings include the orangery, quarters for park workers, and a gallery of copies of Raphael masterpieces that Napoleon pinched when he was passing through town. [link]

Royals don't have guest bedrooms, they have guest palaces. They also do home conversions -- the "New Chambers" that sit just west of the Schloss were originally an … orangery before Frederick the Great had them refitted. The plainish exterior (set off by a windmill-cum-restaurant that sits just behind it) conceals an orgy of the sort of interior design one-upmanship that visiting dignitaries expected. [link]

Friedrich Wilhelm IV built this Mediterranean-style church that is based on the St Clemente Basilica in Rome and has a golden Byzantine ceiling mosaic ripped from a … Venetian church. The campanile and cloisters look out over a small ornamental lake, exquisitely landscaped. Later a hefty, solemn mausoleum for its creator and his predecessor, Frederick III, was added on. [link]

Frederick the Great would probably never have understood the definition of "unpretentious." On occasion he would dine in his Chinese Tea House, a stylized pagoda a-go-go … decorated with large golden statues of picturesque Chinese peasants in Leprechaun hats. It now houses a treasure chest of Meissen and Chinese porcelain. [link]

Bookending the Schloss with the Neue Kammern, the Picture Gallery was allegedly the first purpose-built museum in Europe, but Frederick must have been spinning in his … grave in 1945 when his precious collection was looted. A collection of over a hundred paintings were cobbled together after the war (the Russians graciously returned a few), and is now on display. Look out for two works by Rubens (Four Evangelists and Saint Hieronymous) and Caravaggio's moody Incredulity of Saint Thomas. [link]