Orangery Palace
Orangery Palace | |
---|---|
Orangerieschloss | |
Alternative names | Neue Orangerie auf dem Klausberg |
General information | |
Type | Palace |
Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
Town or city | Potsdam |
Country | Germany |
Coordinates | 52°24′18″N13°01′44″E/ 52.405°N 13.029°E |
Construction started | 1851 |
Completed | 1864 |
Client | Frederick William IV of Prussia |
Owner | Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Friedrich August Stüler Ludwig Ferdinand Hesse |
Website | |
www |
TheOrangery Palace(‹See Tfd›German:Orangerieschloss) is a palace located in theSanssouci ParkofPotsdam,Germany.It is also known as theNewOrangeryon the Klausberg,or just theOrangery.It was built on behest of the "Romantic on the Throne", King Friedrich Wilhelm IV (Frederick William IV of Prussia) from 1851 to 1864.[1]
Background
[edit]The building of the Orangery began with a plan for a high street or triumph street. It was to begin at the triumph arch, east ofSanssouci Park,and end at theBelvedere on the Klausberg.The difference in elevation was to be balanced withviaducts.
With reference to the north side of thePicture Galleryand theNew Chambersfrom the time ofFrederick the Great,Frederick William IV sketched out more new buildings, which would decorate his two kilometer longVia Triumphalis.
Because of the political unrest of the period (March Revolution) and lack of funding, the gigantic project never materialized. Only the Orangery Palace and theTriumphtorwere ever realized.
The Palace
[edit]The construction of the Orangery Palace began after designs by the architectsFriedrich August Stüler,Friedrich Ludwig PersiusandLudwig Ferdinand Hesse .[1]
The building, with its 300 meter long front, was builtin the style of the Italian Renaissance,after the image of theVilla Mediciin Rome and theUffiziinFlorence.
The middle building with its twin towers is the actual palace. This building is joined to the 103 meter long and 16 meter wide Plant Hall, with its almost ceiling-to-floor windows on the south side. In the western hall, the original floor duct heating system is still present and functioning. In thealcovesalong the garden side of the castle annex, there areallegoricalfigures of the months and seasons. In the corner building at the end of the Orangery Hall were the royal apartments and the servants' quarters.
In front of theperistyleElisabeth,Frederick William IV's wife, had a statue of the king erectedin Memoriamafter his death in 1861.
Orangery interior
[edit]Behind the portico, in the middle building, lies the over two-story-tallRaffael Hall.It was based on theSala Regiain theVatican.Over a large skylight in the high clouded ceiling, light falls into the Museum Hall. On the red silk covered walls, hang over fifty copies ofRenaissancepaintings and frescoes. Frederick William IV inherited the works from his father, KingFrederick William III of Prussia,and assembled them here.
The royal apartments were outfitted in the secondRococostyle, connected to both sides of the Raffael Hall. They were intended as guest rooms forTsarNicholas Iand his wife,Alexandra Feodorovna.TheTsarinawas the favorite sister of Frederick William IV, Charlotte, who gave up her name along with her homeland when she married.
Between 1949 and 2010 the Palace also housed premises of theBrandenburgian State Main Archivein its eastern wing.
Garden construction
[edit]The gardens were styled after those of the Italian Renaissance by the garden architect,Peter Joseph Lenné.In the west, below the annex, he designed the Paradise Garden in 1843–44. It contains many exotic flowers and foliage plants. Theatrium,a small building in middle of the compound, designed in the ancient style, was built on plans byLudwig Persiusin 1845. The current Botanical Garden, with its systematically arranged planting, is used by theUniversity of Potsdamas ateaching garden.
TheNorseandSicilianGardens lie to the east. These completely different garden sections were laid out by Lenné between 1857 and 1860. The dark, effective Norse Garden, with its pines, was to have been an element of the planned triumph street.
The Sicilian Garden, with its palm tubs,myrtles,laurels,flowers,arcades,and fountains, runs southward.
World Heritage Site
[edit]Since 1990, the Orangery has been part of the UNESCOWorld Heritage Site"Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin".The palace is administered by theStiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg.
See also
[edit]- List of sights of Potsdam
- List of castles in Berlin and Brandenburg
- Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin
References
[edit]- ^abStreidt, Gert; Frahm, Klaus (1996). Leuthäuser, Gabriele; Feierabend, Peter (eds.).Potsdam.Köln: Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. pp. 232–243.ISBN9783895082382.
Additional reading
[edit]- Paul Sigel, Silke Dähmlow, Frank Seehausen und Lucas Elmenhorst, Architekturführer Potsdam - Architectural Guide, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 2006,ISBN3-496-01325-7.
- Gert Streidt, Klaus Frahm:Potsdam. Die Schlösser und Gärten der Hohenzollern.Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Köln 1996,ISBN3-89508-238-4
- Waltraud Volk:Potsdam. Historische Straßen und Plätze heute.2nd edition, 1993. Verlag für Bauwesen Berlin-München 1993,ISBN3-345-00488-7
External links
[edit]- 1864 establishments in Prussia
- Houses completed in 1864
- Castles in Brandenburg
- Buildings and structures in Potsdam
- Palaces in Brandenburg
- Gardens in Brandenburg
- Royal residences in Brandenburg
- Prussian cultural sites
- Museums in Potsdam
- Historic house museums in Germany
- Sanssouci Park
- World Heritage Sites in Germany
- Orangeries
- Frederick William IV of Prussia