Marmorpalais

The Marmorpalais stands on the shores of Heiliger See in Potsdam’s Neuer Garten. King Frederick William II of Prussia ordered the early Neoclassical building in the late 18th century. Architects Carl von Gontard and Carl Gotthard Langhans designed the red-brick palace, though grey and white Silesian marble decorates its interior. The king used it as a private summer retreat away from the formality of Berlin. A round pavilion on the flat roof offers views across gardens and water. Nearby Pfaueninsel castle was built as a decorative feature to catch the eye.

The palace’s interiors reflect the king’s artistic tastes and his mistress Wilhelmine Enke’s influence. Langhans planned the rooms, filling them with marble fireplaces and antique sculptures bought in Italy. A grotto-like dining room on the ground floor stays cool in summer thanks to greyish-blue marble panelling. Upstairs, a concert hall spanned the lake side and later became an imperial salon. An unusual Oriental cabinet on the upper floor resembles a Turkish tent with a divan.

Visitors walk through forty restored rooms arranged around a central marble stairway. The ground floor vestibule leads to a tall stairway and the grotto dining room. The concert hall on the first floor shows Neoclassical decoration, while the Oriental cabinet offers a contrast in style. Outside, terraces and boat moorings recall the king’s pleasure trips on the lake. The palace kitchen, built as a half-sunken classical ruin, connects to an artificial grotto inside. The surrounding Neuer Garten and nearby lakes complete the harmonious setting.