Dragon House (German ''Drachenhaus'') is a historical building 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 Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, built by King

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

of Prussia on the southern slope of the Klausberg, which borders the northern edge of

Sanssouci Park Sanssouci Park is a large park surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, built under Frederick the Great in the mid-18th century. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in t ...

. It was constructed between 1770 and 1772 in the prevailing

Chinoiserie (, ; loanword from French '' chinoiserie'', from '' chinois'', "Chinese"; ) is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and other Sinosphere artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, lite ...

taste of the time, designed to imitate a Chinese

pagoda A pagoda is a tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist, but some ...

. Carl von Gontard was commissioned to build it. The house served as the residence of the vineyard's

vintner A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...

. The Dragon House is named after the sixteen

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

s on the corners of its concave roofs. Six years after the construction of the Chinese House in Sanssouci Park, Frederick's enthusiasm for Chinoiserie park structures was expressed once again with this creation. Frederick the Great was stimulated to build in a

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

ern style by Sir William Chambers's ''Designs of Chinese Buildings'' (1757) and from his ''Plans, elevations, section and perspective views of the gardens and buildings at Kew'' (1763). These architectural reference books were given to Frederick by the author, who had created for Augusta, Princess of Wales a large garden at

Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...

(near London), in which there still stands Chambers's many-tiered tapering Great Pagoda, completed in 1762. The Dragon House at Sanssouci was built on an octagonal plan, with four floors not only to be decorative but also as living quarters for the wine-growers who worked on the neighbouring Weinberg. However, they did not move into the pagoda. To save the pagoda from its dilapidated state, it had to be restored in 1787. Ever since then it has been constantly inhabited by the overseer of the Belvedere on the Klausberg. Over the years, because of its inhabitation, an additional room, a laundry and three stables have extended the two rooms—a kitchen and an entrance hall—of the structure. The Dragon House has been used since 1934 in a gastronomical capacity.

References

* Generaldirektion der Stiftung Schlösser und Gärten Potsdam-Sanssouci (Hrsg.): ''Potsdamer Schlösser und Gärten. Bau- und Gartenkunst vom 17. bis 20. Jahrhundert''. UNZE VG mbH, Potsdam 1993

External links

Potsdam from Above - DrachenhausDrachen
{{coord, 52, 24, 22, N, 13, 01, 17, E, region:DE-BB_type:landmark, display=title Residential buildings completed in 1772 Towers completed in 1772 Baroque architecture in Potsdam Buildings and structures in Potsdam Sanssouci Park Octagonal buildings in Germany Chinoiserie