Potsdam was a sanctuary for Frederick the Great, who wanted to escape bustling Berlin.

Sanssouci Palace

No other palace is so closely linked with the personality of Frederick the Great as Sanssouci Palace. The king’s summer residence was ultimately his favorite place and sanctuary in difficult times.

Sanssouci Park is an ensemble of palaces and garden complexes, which
were built under Frederick the Great during the 18th century and were
expanded under Frederick William IV in the 19th century. Sanssouci Palace,
the summer residence of Frederick the Great, is its main focus. – © L.Seidel/SPSG

In 1744, Frederick’s interest turned to the city of Potsdam, where he embarked on the expensive enlargement and renovation of the City Palace. That same year he bought the “Wüster Berg” (Desert Hill) west of the city and ordered it to be terraced to accommodate a vineyard. After the vineyard was finished, Frederick issued a decree for the building of a “Pleasure Palace at Potsdam”—the Sanssouci Palace. – © H. Bach / SPSG

Sanssouci Palace, built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobbelsdorff, is a major work of German Rococo architecture. – © L. Seidel/SPSG

The palace was inaugurated on May 1, 1747. In the space of just two years, a “maison de plaisance” had been built, a pleasure palace in the manner of the Grand Trianon of Louis XIV in the park of Versailles. – © L. Seidel / SPSG

This exquisite, cedar-paneled Library, itself a work of art, was the private sanctuary of Frederick the Great. – © L.Seidel/SPSG

The Concert Room, a major work of Frederician Rococo, was the venue for the King´s famous flute concerts. Frederick the Great was a talented solo performer on the transverse flute. In the Music Room, he played duets, accompanied on the harpsichord by musicians such as Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach`s most distinguished son. – © W.Pfauder/SPSG

In the Marble Hall, designed by Knobelsdorff in the style of the Pantheon in Rome, Frederick the Great's legendary round table discussions took place. – © H. Ch. Krass/SPSG

The Fourth Guest Room, which was also known as the “Flower Chamber” in the 18th century, is traditionally associated with Voltaire, and is known as the “Voltaire Room.” Legend has it that the philosopher stayed here when at Sanssouci. – © L. Seidel / SPSG

Elegantly placed to accentuate its length and seemingly untouched by the course of time, Sanssouci Palace rests upon the plateau of a vineyard. – © A.Stiebitz/SPSG

Sanssouci is a world-renowned park with distinctive, terraced grounds and a majestic fountain at its center. It was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1990. – © H.Bach/SPSG

Today’s visitors can meander through the park’s changing styles of exquisite garden design. The aesthetics and philosophy of past residents of these palace grounds may be discovered in the exquisitely formed individual gardens, architecture, fountains, and in over 1,000 sculptures. – © A.König/SPSG

Sanssouci Park is an ensemble of palaces and garden complexes, which were built under Frederick the Great during the 18th century and were expanded under Frederick William IV in the 19th century. Sanssouci Palace, the summer residence of Frederick the Great, is its main focus. – © L.Seidel/SPSG

Frederick the Great wanted to cultivate plums, figs, and wine on Potsdam’s doorstep. In 1744, he had a terraced garden designed in Sanssouci Park for this reason. But, due to the exceptionally beautiful view, he conceived of a summer residence above the terraces just a year later. The New Palace and picture gallery were constructed in subsequent years, while the slopes of the grounds were used as flower and vegetable gardens.

In contrast with the playful design of the garden façade, the north façade is majestic and commanding. A double row of eighty-eight Corinthian columns forms two colonnades in quarter-circle segments enclosing a semicircular cour d'honneur. The Ruins Hill is aligned with this axis to the north. - © A. Stiebitz / SPSG

Today, you will find Frederick II’s tomb on the palace hill. On the pile of ruins to the north of the palace, artificial ruins from the ancient world concealed a water basin. The king was most attached to the lavish waterworks, which only worked properly after the construction of the steam engine building in the 19th century.

The Baroque garden, which had gone out of fashion in the meantime, was redesigned in the style of a landscape park under Frederick the Great’s successors and was expanded by Frederick William IV by structures such as Charlottenhof Palace, the Orangery, and the Roman Baths. They were meant to bring part of Italy to his native country. Today, Sanssouci Park provides a breathtaking backdrop for events such as the Potsdam Court concerts and musical festivals.

“I have chosen the plans of the most beautiful
of what has been built in Europe, above all in Italy.
I have been able to have them executed
with small funds of my own.”
-Frederick II to de Catt, his reader, 1758

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Sanssouci Palace

Hours

January - March:
Monday: closed
Tuesday - Sunday: 10:00 - 16:30

April - October:
Monday: closed
Tuesday - Sunday: 9:00 - 17:30

November - December:
Monday: closed
Tuesday - Sunday: 10:00 - 16:30

On public holidays, weekend opening hours apply unless otherwise stated.
Last admission: 30 minutes before closing

Visits to Sanssouci Palace are bound to fixed admission times. Same-day tickets are available for purchase at palace registers as of 10 am. Because the number of admission tickets per day is limited, we recommend purchasing your tickets in advance through the SPSG online ticket shop.

Pricing

sanssouci+ Ticket
Price: € 19.00 Reduced: € 14.00
Buy tickets online

sanssouci+ Family Ticket
Price: € 49.00

Annual Pass for the Palaces
Price: € 60.00 Reduced: € 40.00

sanssouci+ Ticket and sanssouci+ Family Ticket are valid for one visit to all of the SPSG palaces in Potsdam, including Sanssouci Palace, on a single day. In the Belvedere Pfingstberg, ticket owners are granted the reduced rate. When purchasing a ticket sanssouci+ Online a fixed admission time (time-slot) in Sanssouci Palace is booked.