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48-550: The Marmorpalais was designed by the architects Carl von Gontard and (from 1789) Carl Gotthard Langhans , the designer of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate . The Marmorpalais was reserved as a summer residence for the private use of the king, who had an artistic temperament. With this new construction the nephew and successor of Frederick the Great dissociated himself from his childless uncle, whom he disliked and who favored earlier Baroque and Rococo forms. The red brick Marmorpalais

96-500: A MiG fighter airplane and a rocket were exhibited. The weapons were removed in 1989. Starting in 1984, the National People's Army made plans for a fundamental restoration as the building continued to fall into disrepair. These plans came to fruition in 1988 and the work continued in late autumn 1990 after the return of the property to the palaces administration. Since 14 April 2006 all 40 rooms have been renovated and opened to

144-769: A Prussian army officer who was granted hereditary nobility by the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II . After two years of study in Paris under Jacques-François Blondel and a lengthy sojourn in Italy he gained a reputation as a valued court architect to Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth . In Bayreuth he designed an extension to the Bayreuth Palace and numerous palaces for the nobility and residences for prosperous citizens, buildings recognized as being of high artistic quality and giving

192-475: A central great hall, while above on the first floor were the "private" bedroom, dressing rooms and bathrooms. The living area of the great hall also features a massive wooden stairway made of oak. This was a gift from the city of Danzig. The ground floor rooms included an area for the Crown Prince with smoking room, library and breakfast room as well as an area for his wife with music salon, writing room and

240-424: A great influence on the interior decoration of the palace; in 1796 she was made Countess Lichtenau. After only a few years of use the palace was considered to be too small, and in 1797 construction started on two side wings designed by Michael Philipp Boumann. The architect connected these single-story, rectangular extensions to the right and left of the main entrance on the garden side of the palace with galleries in

288-648: A room designed like a cabin on an ocean liner. The latter was used by Cecilie as a breakfast room. Like some of the other rooms it was designed by Paul Ludwig Troost , who also designed actual interiors of ocean liners for the Norddeutscher Lloyd shipping line. The palace was finished in August 1917. It was named Cecilienhof after the Duchess and the couple moved in immediately. Cecilie gave birth at Cecilienhof to her youngest child, Princess Cecilie , who

336-867: Is located in the northern part of the large Neuer Garten park, close to the shore of the Jungfernsee lake. The park was laid out from 1787 at the behest of King Frederick William II of Prussia , modelled on the Wörlitz Park in Anhalt-Dessau . Frederick William II also had the Marmorpalais ( Marble Palace ) built within the Neuer Garten , the first Brandenburg palace in the Neoclassical style erected, according to plans designed by Carl von Gontard and Carl Gotthard Langhans , which

384-555: The Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg . Beginning in 1790, Carl Gotthard Langhans was commissioned with designing the interior rooms. Marble fireplaces and antique sculpture were a prominent feature in decisions about the decorative furnishings; these had been purchased in Italy for the Marmorpalais by the architect Friedrich Wilhelm von Erdmannsdorff . This Saxon nobleman, who

432-1054: The House of Hohenzollern that ruled the Kingdom of Prussia and the German Empire , until the end of World War I . It is famous for having been the location of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, in which the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States made important decisions affecting the shape of post-World War II Europe and Asia. Cecilienhof has been part of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin UNESCO World Heritage Site , since 1990. Cecilienhof

480-596: The Sacrow Church . Since the Marmorpalais, which had been the traditional Potsdam residence of the Hohenzollern crown prince, had become inadequate for current tastes, Emperor Wilhelm II ordered the establishment of a fund for constructing a new palace at Potsdam for his oldest son, Crown Prince Wilhelm (William) and his wife, Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin on 19 December 1912. After their marriage in 1905, Wilhelm and Cecilie had previously lived at

528-743: The Temple of Friendship , Frederick the Great's tribute to his sister, Wilhelmine, and the Antique Temple . His next major work in Potsdam, the Military Orphanage, was undertaken 1771-1778 and contained a distinctive central block and a spiraling stairwell. Gontard also designed and built private residences in Potsdam, such as an impressive parade of houses, Am Bassin , and Potsdam's Brandenburg Gate . Gontard's main works in Berlin include

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576-580: The Great of Prussia, who soon put him in charge of all royal construction projects in Potsdam and Berlin. From 1765 to 1769 he was the artistic director of the New Palace in Potsdam, whose construction had started in 1763. Gontard had a major role in the arrangement and design of the palace interior, as well as the architecture of the formal auxiliary buildings ( Communs ) facing the palace forecourt and several structures in Sanssouci Park , such as

624-694: The Marmorpalais for most of the year and at the Berlin Kronprinzenpalais in winter. In 1911, the Crown Prince had been appointed commander of the Prussian 1. Leibhusaren-Regiment and moved to Danzig-Langfuhr . On 13 April 1914 the Imperial Ministry and the Saalecker Werkstätten signed a building contract that envisaged a completion date of 1 October 1915 and a construction cost of 1,498,000 Reichsmark for

672-465: The Marmorpalais from 1881 until he acceded to the throne in 1888. The last royal inhabitants of the Marmorpalais were Prince Wilhelm , eldest son of Kaiser Wilhelm II, and his spouse Cecilie , who lived there for most of the year between 1904 and 1917, when they moved to nearby Cecilienhof Palace, built for them in the Neuer Garten . After the German monarchy came to an end in 1918, the Marmorpalais

720-886: The Royal Chambers in the Berlin City Palace . At the same time he created the Marble Palace in Potsdam, one of his most outstanding achievements. His last work was the ‘‘Holländische Etablissement’’, an ensemble of so-called “Dutch Houses” in the New Garden, Potsdam . Under Frederick William II Gontard became a member of the Royal Prussian Academy of Arts and Mechanical Sciences, where he taught until his death. He had significant followers in G. C. Unger, F. W. Titel, and H. Gentz, but no long-lasting successors as his style did not survive

768-463: The architect Ludwig Ferdinand Hesse to complete the unfinished interior structure and fittings for the two side extensions between 1843 and 1848. Frescos with scenes from the Nibelungenlied were added to the outside to decorate the colonnade walls. The building's technical and sanitary facilities were updated when Prince Wilhelm (William), later Kaiser Wilhelm II , and his family lived in

816-565: The change in architectural taste that came with the end of Frederick the Great's era. (This article incorporates information from the German Misplaced Pages) Cecilienhof Cecilienhof Palace ( German : Schloss Cecilienhof ) is a palace in Potsdam , Brandenburg , Germany , built from 1914 to 1917 in the layout of an English Tudor manor house . Cecilienhof was the last palace built by

864-703: The colonnade portico and tower of the German and French churches on Gendarmenmarkt ; two decorative colonnaded bridges across the former moat, a remnant of the city's 17th century fortifications, (in 1776 the Spittelkolonnaden on Leipziger Straße , and in 1777/1778 the Königskolonnaden , originally near Alexanderplatz but later relocated to Heinrich-von-Kleist-Park); the Oranienburg Gate (1787/88) historic drawing ; and supervision of

912-547: The construction of the Royal Library on today's Bebelplatz , which he furnished with a grand staircase and a formal hall for festivities. Immediately after the death of Frederick the Great, his successor, Friedrich Wilhelm II , commissioned Gontard to decorate the Potsdam City Palace and Garrison Church for the funeral rites. Major royal assignments followed. Between 1787 and 1790 he furnished nine of

960-524: The end of the war, Cecilienhof was seized by the Soviets. The Potsdam Conference (officially the "Berlin Conference") took place from 17 July to 2 August 1945. It was the third and longest summit between the heads of government of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, the major forces in the anti-Hitler-coalition that had just won the war after VE day , 8 May 1945. The conference

1008-480: The fact that it boasts a total of 176 rooms. Besides the large Ehrenhof (three-sided courtyard) in the centre, which was used only for the arrival and departure of the Crown Prince and his wife, there is a smaller garden court, the Prinzengarten , and three other courts around which the various wings of the building are arranged. The "public" rooms were located in the centre part on the ground floor, around

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1056-472: The form of quarter circles. The marble required to decorate these extensions was obtained by removing Frederick William's colonnades from Park Sanssouci and incorporating the pillars in the new building. This garden architecture designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff had originally stood on the main boulevard connecting Sanssouci Palace and the New Palace . When the king died in November 1797, just

1104-481: The hotel. Today, parts of Cecilienhof are still used as a museum and as a hotel. In 1990, it became part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site , called Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin . The private rooms were opened to the public in 1995, after comprehensive restoration work. Queen Elizabeth II visited Cecilienhof on 3 November 2004. On 30 May 2007, the palace was used for a summit by

1152-580: The last days of the war, planted trees, bushes and flower beds—including the Soviet red star in the Ehrenhof of the palace. At Cecilienhof, 36 rooms and the great hall were renovated and furnished with furniture from other Potsdam palaces. The furniture of Wilhelm and Cecilie had been removed by the Soviets and stored at the Dairy. The main rooms used for the conference were as follows: However, according to

1200-567: The main building by a grenade. Its condition further deteriorated after the war, over a period of time when the Soviet Red Army used it as a venue for an officers' mess, beginning in 1946. In 1961, the East German GDR Army Museum was established in the building. Inside, historic military equipment, uniforms and historic documents were on display and on the outside, cannon, a T-34 tank, a high-speed patrol boat,

1248-541: The monarchy, their relationship cooled. After the assassination attempt on 20 July 1944 , Hitler had Wilhelm placed under supervision by the Gestapo and had Cecilienhof watched. In January 1945, Wilhelm left Potsdam for Oberstdorf for a treatment of his gall and liver problems. Cecilie fled in early February 1945 as the Red Army drew closer to Berlin, without being able to salvage much in terms of her possessions. At

1296-481: The nearby lake shore is to be found the palace kitchen, which was built 1788-1790 by Langhans in the romantic style of a half-sunken classical temple ruin. An underground corridor provides a connection with an artificial grotto on the ground floor of the palace which served as a dining room in summertime. The Marmorpalais is closely associated with Wilhelmine Enke (also spelled Encke), known popularly as "Beautiful Wilhelmine". As Frederick William II's mistress she had

1344-469: The new palace. The architect was Paul Schultze-Naumburg , who visited the couple in Danzig to work out the design for the palace. It was based on English Tudor style buildings, arranged around several courtyards featuring half-timbered walls, bricks and 55 different decorative chimney stacks. With the start of World War I in August 1914, construction stopped but was resumed in 1915. Crown Prince Wilhelm

1392-539: The official guide to the palace, evidence has recently emerged that indicates that the current designation of the British and American studies may have been switched by the Soviets after the conference. After the conference ended, Soviet troops used the palace as a clubhouse. It was handed over to the state of Brandenburg and in 1952 a memorial for the Conference was set up in the former private chambers of Wilhelm and Cecilie. The government of Eastern Germany also used

1440-413: The palace and faces the lake. Because of its shady location and the calm, cool effect of its greyish blue marble paneling its occupants enjoyed a pleasant room climate. On either side of this middle axis there were six private rooms serving as royal living quarters. Upstairs, the rooms are grouped around the central marble stairway. The largest room, the concert hall, extended across the entire lake side of

1488-648: The palace as a reception venue for state visits. The rest of the complex became a hotel in 1960. Some of the rooms were used by the ruling party ( SED ) for meetings. However, after 1961, a part of the Neuer Garten was destroyed to build the southwest section of the Berlin Wall (as part of the Grenzsicherungsanlagen ), which ran along the shore of Jungfernsee . Beginning in 1985, the VEB Reisebüro (state-owned travel agency) modernised

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1536-804: The palace. It was later used as a salon during the reign of the German Kaisers. The furnishings and decorative architecture of the rooms reflected a taste for the Neoclassical style, the only exception being the so-called Oriental cabinet on the upper floor, which Langhans designed as a Turkish tent with a divan . 52°24′46″N 13°04′11″E  /  52.412671°N 13.06975°E  / 52.412671; 13.06975 Carl von Gontard Carl Philipp Christian von Gontard (13 January 1731 in Mannheim – 23 September 1791 in Breslau )

1584-531: The property of the Hohenzollern family had been confiscated after the revolution, Cecilie then had to move her residence to an estate at Oels in Silesia, which was a private property. Only her sons Wilhelm (William) and Louis Ferdinand remained at Cecilienhof while they attended a public Realgymnasium (school) in Potsdam. Crown Prince Wilhelm had gone into exile in the Netherlands on 13 November 1918 and

1632-403: The public. Repair of the exterior surface was completed in autumn 2009 after several years of restoration work. Since 1990, the Marmorpalais has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site " Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin " because of its architectural harmony with the nearby gardens and its testimony to the power of Prussia in the 18th and 19th centuries. The palace is administered by

1680-532: The shell of the extensions had been completed. His son and successor, Frederick William III of Prussia , being uninterested in the project, only had the exterior finished. This was still the situation in the 1830s when Prince Wilhelm (William), later Kaiser William I , and his spouse Augusta moved into the Marmorpalais while they awaited the completion of their new residence at Babelsberg Palace (1833-1835-1849). His brother, King Frederick William IV of Prussia , known as "a royal nostalgic romanticist", commissioned

1728-475: The state but granted a right of residence to Wilhelm and Cecilie. This was limited in duration to three generations. Wilhelm subsequently broke the promise he had made to Gustav Stresemann , who allowed him to return to Germany, to stay out of politics. He supported the rise to power of Adolf Hitler , who visited Cecilienhof three times, in 1926, in 1933 (on the "Day of Potsdam") and in 1935. However, when Wilhelm realized that Hitler had no intention of restoring

1776-502: The tip of the pavilion. The palace got its name from the grey and white Silesian marble used for the decorative elements and partitioning structures. Boat moorings could be approached by members of the court via a large terrace on the lake side of the palace, from which a stairway led down to the water. The king enjoyed extensive boat rides; even Charlottenburg Palace on the Spree river in Berlin could be reached by boat from here. On

1824-493: The townscape a distinctive accent. Gontard also taught architecture at the Bayreuth Academy of Arts. When her husband, reigning prince Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth , died in 1763, Gontard no long received regular commissions because of the policy of austerity of Frederick's successor, Frederick Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth . In 1764 Gontard was employed by Wilhelmine's brother, Frederick

1872-555: Was a German architect who worked primarily in Berlin , Potsdam , and Bayreuth in the style of late Baroque Classicism . Next to Knobelsdorff , he was considered the most important architect of the era of Frederick the Great of Prussia. Carl von Gontard descended from a Huguenot family living in the French province of Dauphiné . He married Sophia von Erckert and had numerous children, including Carl Friedrich Ludwig von Gontard,

1920-471: Was already famous for planning and executing early Neoclassical buildings in Dessau-Wörlitz, had been invited to work in Berlin in 1787. On the ground floor of the main building there is a vestibule leading to a stairway extending the entire height of the building. Behind it is a large room designed as a grotto and used in the summertime as a dining room. This room is situated on the eastern side of

1968-529: Was born on 5 September 1917. However, when the revolution erupted in November 1918, for security reasons Cecilie and her six children moved for a while to the Neues Palais , where the wife of Emperor Wilhelm II, Empress Augusta Victoria , was living. After the Empress followed her husband into exile in the Netherlands, Cecilie remained in Potsdam and returned to Cecilienhof where she lived until 1920. As

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2016-604: Was finished in 1793. Other structures within the park close to Schloss Cecilienhof include an orangery , an artificial grotto ( Muschelgrotte  [ de ] ), the "Gothic Library", and the Dairy in the New Garden , also constructed for king Frederick William II. The park was largely redesigned as an English landscape garden according to plans by Peter Joseph Lenné from 1816 onwards, with lines of sight to nearby Pfaueninsel , Glienicke Palace , Babelsberg Palace , and

2064-399: Was interned on the island of Wieringen . He was allowed to return to Germany—as a private citizen—on 9 November 1923. In June 1926, a referendum on expropriating the former ruling Princes of Germany without compensation failed and as a consequence, the financial situation of the Hohenzollern family improved considerably. A settlement between the state and the family made Cecilienhof property of

2112-403: Was mainly organized by the Soviets. Although the British prime minister Winston Churchill had refused to hold a summit "anywhere within the current Soviet military zone", US President Harry Truman and Soviet leader Josef Stalin had agreed in late May 1945 to meet "near Berlin". As Berlin itself had been too heavily damaged by Allied bombing and street-to-street fighting, Cecilienhof in Potsdam

2160-525: Was originally a two-story square building. A fine view of the surrounding gardens and lakes is possible from a round pavilion on the flat roof of the cubical structure. Among other buildings, the little castle on the Pfaueninsel in the Havel river was constructed as an eye-catcher. A stairway and gallery accessed from the roof lead into the belvedere . Sculptured putti carrying a basket of fruit decorate

2208-540: Was placed under the control of the Prussian palaces administration in 1926 as a result of a settlement between the Free State of Prussia and the Hohenzollern family regarding property claims. It opened as a palace museum in 1932, with restored interior furnishings from the 18th and 19th centuries. Toward the end of World War II the palace suffered serious damage when the north wing was hit by an incendiary bomb, and

2256-515: Was selected as the location for the conference. The delegations were to be housed in the leafy suburb of Potsdam-Babelsberg , which had suffered only slight damage in the bombing raids and also offered the advantage that the streets to the conference venue were easy to guard. Soviet soldiers repaired the streets connecting Babelsberg to Cecilienhof, built a pontoon bridge to replace the Glienicker Brücke , which had been destroyed during

2304-561: Was so impressed with cottage and Tudor style homes like Bidston Court in Birkenhead (England) that Cecilienhof was inspired by it. Also, due to Duchess Cecilie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin 's family ties, German Tudor-styled Gelbensande Manor near Rostock in Mecklenburg-Schwerin was an inspiration. The palace was designed in such a way as to be inhabitable for most of the year. Its low structure and multiple courts conceal

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