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194 Section 14. POTSDAM. Sanssouci.
in length, which intersects the park from E. (Obelisk, p. 192) to W.
(New Palace, p. 196).
A broad flight of steps, 66 ft. in height, intersected by six
Terraces, ascends from the great fountain to the palace. On the
highest terrace two elegant fountains project their water in the
form of bells. Frederick the Great's greyhounds are buried at the
E. end of this terrace. The king expressed a wish to be buried at
the foot of the statue of Flora here ('Quand je serai la, je serai
sans souci').
The *Palace of Sanssouci, a building of one story, 320 ft. in
length and 39 ft. high, erected by Knobelsdorff for Frederick the
Great from the king's own sketches in 1745-47, and that monarch's
almost constant residence, stands on an eminence above the town.
The terrace on the N. side is enclosed by a semicircular Corinthian
colonnade. Frederick's rooms are still preserved almost unaltered;
they are interesting on account of their rococo decorations as well
as for their historical associations (adm., see p. 189; tickets ob¬
tained at the rear of the palace).
The West Wing contains Voltaire's Room, with interesting wood-
carving and a porcelain bust of Voltaire ('immortalis'), and Fred. Wil¬
liam IV.'s Rooms, in which he died in 1861. — In the Central Building
is the oval Dining Room, the S. side of which can be thrown open to
the terrace. The figures of Apollo and Urania are by Fr. G. Adam (p. 193).
The king's famous round table is well known from Menzel's painting
(p. 92). — East Wing. The Audience Room and the adjacent apartments
are hung with admirable *Paintings by Watteau, Pater, and Lancret, and
contain handsome furniture. — The clock in the Concert Saloon, which
Frederick was in the habit of winding up, is said to have stopped at the
precise moment of his death (2.20 a.m., 17th Aug., 1786). The wall-paintings
in this room are by Pesne; handsome ceiling. — Frederick the Great's
Apartment. This room, in which he died, was reconstructed the same
year by his successor. Graff's portrait of Frederick represents him at
about the age of fifty-six. Marble *Statue by Magnussen (1898), repre¬
senting the 'last moments of Frederick the Great'. In the alcove is a
portrait of the king's mother, Sophie Dorothea, by Pesne. — The *Library,
charmingly decorated in the rococo style in cedar-wood and gilt-bronze,
contains a few antique busts, the best of which is one of Homer. Spe¬
cimens of the king's handwriting and a drawing (design of the palace) by
him. — The Gallery, with paintings by Watteau and his school, leads to
the Parole Room, behind the dining-room, where our visit terminates.
The Picture Gallery, built in 1756, occupies a separate build¬
ing to the E., the interior of which is lavishly decorated with stucco
(adm., see p. 189; visitors are conducted by an attendant). It con¬
tains a few good works by Rubens (17. Holy Family), Van Dyck
(8. Four Evangelists; 155. Cupid skating), Cranach, Cornelis van
Haarlem, Hans Baldung Grien, and P. Molenaer. There are
also several works by the two Van der Werffs, some good examples
of Jan Brueghel (102. Vulcan's forge), and paintings by Pesne,
Graff (53. Iffland the actor as Pygmalion), etc. A small room at
the back contains a vase of bloodstone. — The Grotto of Neptune,
a little to the E., is a relic of the rich architectonic decoration of