New Palace

The New Palace (German: Neues Palais) is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci park in Potsdam, Germany. Begun in 1763 after the end of the Seven Years' War under King Frederick II (Frederick the Great) and completed in 1769, it is considered to be the last great Prussian Baroque palace. The building was commissioned as a demonstration of Prussian power and wealth following the deprivations of the war, serving primarily as a venue for receiving important royals and dignitaries rather than as a principal royal residence. Today it is administered by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg and is accessible to the public as a museum.

Frederick the Great had fixed the design and site selection for the New Palace before the Seven Years' War, with initial plans drawn up by Johann Gottfried Büring and Heinrich Ludwig Manger based on the King's sketches. Construction commenced in 1763 immediately following the Treaty of Hubertusburg, which concluded the war. Frederick himself laid the foundation stone that year. After disagreements over the design, Carl von Gontard took over in 1764 and saw the project through to completion in 1769. The King described the palace as a 'Fanfaronade,' a boastful display of splendor intended to proclaim Prussia's enhanced status among European powers. The inscription 'Nec soli cedit' ('Even the sun yields to him') on the central risalit cartouches underscored Frederick's self-image as a victorious commander. After Frederick's death in 1786, the palace fell into disuse. It was revived in 1859 when Crown Prince Frederick William, later Emperor Frederick III, adopted it as a summer residence. During his brief 99-day reign in 1888, it was renamed 'Friedrichskron Palace' and a moat was dug around it. His son Wilhelm II continued modernization, installing steam heating, bathrooms, and electric lighting, and the palace remained his preferred residence until 1918. After the November Revolution and Wilhelm II's abdication, the New Palace became a museum in 1926. Some treasures were looted by the Soviet Army at the end of the Second World War, though much furniture had already been removed to Huis Doorn in the Netherlands; the majority was discovered in original packing crates in the 1970s and returned to Potsdam. The palace escaped bombing, preserving its largely intact Frederician interiors.

The New Palace houses a significant collection of seventeenth and eighteenth-century artworks displayed in their original context. The antechambers of the apartments are richly decorated with more than 40 paintings by Dutch and Flemish artists and 140 paintings by Italian and French artists. The collection includes works by Andrea Celesti, Guido Reni, Artemisia Gentileschi, Luca Giordano, Jean Restout, Antoine Pesne, Nicolas Lancret, Jean-Baptiste Pater, and Carle and Amédée van Loo. The Dutch and Flemish holdings feature the Adoration of the Magi designed by Peter Paul Rubens and executed by Anthony van Dyck around 1620, as well as Van Dyck's early Adoration of the Shepherds, alongside works by Jacob Jordaens, Thomas Willeboirts Bosschaert, Paul de Vos, Jan Boeckhorst, Frans Francken, Frans Floris, Ferdinand Bol, and Abraham Bloemaert. Although the painting collection suffered significant war losses, a large number of works from the original eighteenth-century display have been preserved, supplemented by paintings from other palaces of the Hohenzollern family.

The palace's interior spaces constitute its most notable holdings. The Grotto Hall (Grottensaal), attributed to Carl von Gontard, features walls encrusted with shells, stones, marble, quartz, and semi-precious stones, further enriched in the nineteenth century, with niches containing statues and a fountain. The Marble Gallery, flooded with light from its eastern orientation toward the park, is decorated with white marble and red jasper and leads to the King's apartment. The Marble Hall and Upper Gallery display paintings from the Italian Baroque. The palace theater, an 18th-century amphitheater-style auditorium on the upper floor of the southern side wing, continues to host performances today. The King's apartment on the ground floor includes a bedroom, writing cabinet, library, and concert room. The central building contains two banqueting halls on the ground floor and another two on the first floor. The vestibule features a ceiling painting of Apollo by Johann Christoph Frisch. The Tamerlanzimmer takes its name from a wall-filling painting by Andrea Celesti. Over 400 sandstone statues and figures adorn the palace HYPERLINK "https://www.potsdam-sanssouci.com/en/sanssouci-park/new-palace/" and auxiliary buildings, created by sculptors including Johann Peter Benckert, Johann Matthias Gottlieb Heymüller, the brothers Johann David and Johann Lorenz Räntz, and August Julius Streichenberg.

The New Palace was built as a summer residence using a Baroque symmetrical layout. The three-wing palace, with side extensions, faces the Communs service wing, consisting of two wings connected by a colonnade. The Communs functioned as a counterpart to the palace, containing domestic quarters and kitchens, and were originally intended to block the view of swamps behind the park. The main building is crowned by a 55-meter high dome with the Three Graces holding the crown of Prussia; the dome is purely decorative and contains no usable space. The adjoining wings have matching gilded eagle-crowned cupolas. The three-wing system has a front length of 220 meters. The facade features fluted Corinthian pilasters in colossal order, with what appears to be red brick actually being painted stucco, a cost-saving measure after repointing proved too arduous and expensive. Only the King's south wing has exposed brick. The two single-story pavilion-like side wings have an L-shaped floor plan. Four small staircases provide access to the apartments rather than a main staircase. The building is constructed of brick and plaster. The palace complex includes the Temple of Friendship and the Antique Temple in its immediate vicinity. As part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1990.

The New Palace is located in the western part of Park Sanssouci in Potsdam, in the Brandenburger Vorstadt area. It is owned and administered by the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg). The palace is open to the public as a museum, with visiting hours typically from 10:00 to 18:00 or 17:00 depending on the season, closed on Sundays. The last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Special closures include Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The adjacent Communs buildings, formerly domestic quarters and kitchens, have housed faculties and parts of the administration of the University of Potsdam since 1992. The palace complex serves as a venue for cultural events including the Music Festival in Potsdam and the Night of the Palaces. As of 2025, restoration work continues on portions of the palace including the Upper Gallery and Upper Concert Hall.