The Belvedere on the Pfingstberg () is a palace north of the New Garden in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, Germany, at the summit of Pfingstberg hill. It was commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and built between 1847 and 1863 as a viewing platform. Because of its architecture and historical importance, the Belvedere forms part of the

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin () are a group of palace complexes and extended landscaped gardens located in the Havelland region around Potsdam and the German capital of Berlin. The term was used upon the designation of the cultural ensem ...

, inscribed in 1999.

History

It was commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and as completed is only part of a substantially more extensive project for the hilltop site. The Belvedere was built, as its name suggests, as a viewing platform for visitors and contains only two modest scale rooms for entertainment, one in each upper tower. The mural decoration of these (

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things: **Etruscan language ** Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan coins **Etruscan history **Etruscan myt ...

and

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

, respectively) is mostly now lost. Architecturally eclectic, the two towers are modelled on Italian Renaissance architecture whilst the wings are Roman in style and some of the detailed decoration is Greek-inspired. It was constructed between 1847 and 1863 with an interruption from 1852 to 1860. Based on sketches from the King, the architects, Ludwig Persius,

Friedrich August Stüler Friedrich August Stüler (28 January 1800 – 18 March 1865) was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterpiece is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Schloss. ...

and , drew detailed plans. The landscape architect

Peter Joseph Lenné Peter Joseph Lenné (the Younger) (29 September 1789 – 23 January 1866) was a Prussian gardener and landscape architect. As director general of the Royal Prussian palaces and parks in Potsdam and Berlin, his work shaped the development of 1 ...

was responsible for the design of the grounds which are planted in the manner of the

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (, , , , ), is a style of "landscape" garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal ...

, with serpentine paths and dense copses of hardwood trees. These now obstruct views of the Belvedere from the park and almost all points in

, but are apparently as designed by Lenné. The Belvedere fell into disrepair during World War II and was left abandoned in the period of the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. It was repaired between 1988 and 2005 by an association formed by a group of local residents. Today, the Belvedere is open to visitors and is still managed by the ''Förderverein Pfingstberg e.V.'' who won major financial backing for the restoration. Major contributors included the ''Hermann Reemtsma Stiftung'' and Werner Otto.

Description

The twin prospect towers from which the view over Potsdam is achieved rise above a very high podium. This is in the form of a three-sided courtyard with central reflecting pool. The three sides of the courtyard are themselves each capped with viewing terraces under colonnades – two Corinthian and one with astylar round arches. Visitors ascend by many steps both outside and inside, with the final ascent being made via a narrow iron spiral staircase. Because of the dense

tree planting Tree planting is the process of transplanting tree seedlings, generally for forestry, land reclamation, or landscaping purposes. It differs from the transplantation of larger trees in arboriculture and from the lower-cost but slower and les ...

of the park the view can only be achieved from the upper level.

Today

Occasional concerts are held on a stage in the reflecting pool of the courtyard and the two Belvedere rooms are available as a marriage venue. Weddings can also be held by the reflecting pool in the courtyard, although the last outside wedding for 2020 was held on 16 October at 1:30pm.

Gallery

File:Wikimedia_Conference_2015_photo_by_Pine_-_12.jpg, Interior courtyard File:Wikimedia_Conference_2015_photo_by_Pine_-_45.jpg, Interior courtyard File:Wikimedia_Conference_2015_photo_by_Pine_-_16.jpg, One of the two flanking Corinthian Colonnades File:Wikimedia_Conference_2015_photo_by_Pine_-_20.jpg, Front yard seen from above

References

External links

Official website run by a private association

At the Monuments in Brandenburg database
{{Coord, 52.4188, 13.0590, type:landmark_region:DE, display=title, format=dms Buildings and structures in Potsdam Prussian cultural sites World Heritage Sites in Germany