Potsdam is famous for the beautiful summer palace Sanssouci with the palace park and its numerous landscaped gardens. During a walk through the park you can admire the Chinese House and the Dragon House.
How does a Chinese House and the Dragon House come to Potsdam?
At the end of the 17th century, the Dutch began to trade more and more with China. From their trade journeys, the merchants brought back to Europe not only valuable silk fabrics and porcelains, but also numerous works of art made of mother-of-pearl.
A real “battle” began at the princely courts to see who had the most unusual and interesting piece in their Chinese collection. Entire rooms were furnished in the Chinese style and wall hangings displayed the romanticized image of the distant country. Some princely courts also implemented this style in their parks and had pavilions and pagodas built.
Frederick the Great could not resist the allure of the unknown world and commissioned the master builder Johann Gottfried Büring to build a pavilion.
The Chinese House
The master builder used sketches that Frederick the Great had made himself as a model for the house.
However, the rapid implementation of the idea failed due to the Seven Years’ War, which greatly damaged Prussia economically and financially. Thus, it took almost 10 years until the Chinese House was completed in 1764.
Frederick the Great used the pavilion not only as a decorative element in his gardens, but also as an exotic location for representative events. So that his guests could be fed without any problems, he had a Chinese kitchen built not far away.
If you walk around the building, you will notice the cloverleaf-shaped ground plan. Frederick the Great is said to have discovered this in a garden pavilion in France and transferred it to his design. The result is a circular central area adjoined by three cabinets.
I especially like the large floor-to-ceiling windows, which certainly allow for beautiful light in the room. The copper roof is supported by four gilded palm columns and almost looks like a circus roof because of the shape. On the roof sits the gilded figure of a mandarin with a stretched umbrella and caduceus. At the base of the columns are beautiful gilded sandstone sculptures depicting Chinese people eating, drinking and playing music. Supposedly, people from the region sat for the sculptures, certainly for lack of Chinese models. Therefore, one assumes, the figures have a European look rather than an Asian appearance.
When you enter the Chinese House, the first thing you notice is the green stucco marble. One can discover monkeys with musical instruments carved in stucco above the French windows. There was space for valuable porcelain pieces on consoles and gilded candlesticks flash everywhere.
I find the ceiling painting very interesting. Asian people surrounded by parrots and monkeys are depicted. You can also see some Buddha figures.
The walls of the cabinets are covered with flowered silk. This comes from Prussian production.
Next to the Chinese house on the meadow is a rather strange vessel that looks like a stove. It is a high incense burner with the inscription “製年元正雍清大”. Reading from right to left, this translates to “Daqing Yongzheng yuannian-zhi”. Translated, this means something like “Made in the 1st year of Emperor Yongzheng’s reign”. That must have been in the year 1723.
The dragon house
About 6 years after the Chinese House was completed, Frederick II had the Dragon House built. This stands in the north of the palace park on the Bornstedt ridge.
The master builder Carl von Gontard designed an octagonal building with four floors based on the model of the Ta Ho Pagoda from near Guangzhou. The entire building tapers upwards and you can see dragons sitting everywhere.
Originally, the first floor housed a hallway, two rooms and a kitchen. The three upper floors could not be used for living. The vintner of the royal vineyard was supposed to move into the house. Apparently, he did not like the building, because the Dragon House initially stood empty for many years, until a supervisor of the Belvedere moved in. Since 1934, the Dragon House has been used by various catering establishments.
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