Postdam, immensely Rococo, how queer was Frederick the Great?
Postdam is just a short train journey from Berlin. It is valuable that this city’s many castles and historical buildings survived WWII. One person could take the credit for making Postdam the “Rococo Jewel,” namely King Frederick the Great. The palaces in Postdam are on the UNESCO world heritage list.
Frederick the Great
Most historians agree that Frederick the Great was a homosexual. He was the Prussian king from 1740 until he died in 1786. Prussia significantly increased its territories and became a military power in Europe under his rule. His father, Frederick William, executed one of his lovers and imprisoned his son. As crown prince, he was let out on the condition that he marry Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Bevern, against his own will. They lived together as long as the old King lived, but when he died, they separated, she stayed a loyal queen, and they had a civilized relationship.
Neues Palais in Postdam
The New Palace is an imposing building commissioned to demonstrate Prussia`s economic power after Seven years of war. It houses more than 400 hundred rooms. Above, you can see the Servents quarter built opposite the palace. One of the twin buildings included the kitchen for the court. The King wanted it like this because of not hear the noise from the kitchen or the smell and the danger of fire. Today, these two buildings are used by the university.
Frederican Rococo
The Frederican Rococo became the nickname of the style developed in Prussia during the reign of Frederick the Great. Even though Rococo was out of fashion by the time they built the Neue Palais, this was the style Frederick loved. He was a great patron of the arts, specifically music. He also played flute himself and composed music. Not easy to pinpoint the masculinity of a warrior king in his palaces.
Schloss Sanssouci
This is a small and beautiful summer residence close to the Neues Palais. It is at the top of a grand staircase leading up from the park. Frederick the Great wanted to be buried here, next to his beloved dogs. We must be grateful to this camp King who gave us all these beautiful buildings to admire.
Schloss Cecilienhof
There are several reasons for visiting Postdam, for example, Marmorpalais, but unfortunately, this castle was closed when I reached it. Another interesting building is the Schloss Cecilienhof. An English-style country house. Here the historic Postdam Conference in 1945 was held. Members of the Allied delegations signed the agreements of Germany’s future after the end of the war.
Museum Barberini
I have to mention one museum. The Museum Barberini, this Potsdam Art Museum, is located in the classicistic-baroque Barberini Palace, modeled on a palazzo in Rome. The building was destroyed by an air raid in 1945 and demolished in 1948. The Hasso Plattner Foundation, which also runs the museum, financed the reconstruction. The exhibition themes range from the Old Masters to contemporary art. The main focus of the collection is Impressionism.
Next time you are in Berlin, you should take a day or two to visit all these lovely places in Postdam. I bet it is even more beautiful in the summer when the parks are green.
