Today, I
would like to highlight a different kind of German castle than the ones that I’ve
discussed previously. I am going to
focus on the castle Sans Souci in Potsdam, near Berlin.
Sans Souci was built in 1747 as
the summer palace of Frederick the Great of Prussia. "Sans Souci" is a French phrase which means “without
concerns” or “carefree”, and this castle was used by Frederick to relax and get
away from the stress of the court in Berlin. It was built in the Rococo style, and is often compared with the larger Baroque
palace at Versailles. Frederick
considered himself a patron of the arts and often entertained his friend,
Voltaire, at Sans Souci.
In the 19th
century, Sans Souci became the residence of Prussian Frederick William IV. He proceeded to enlarge the castle and
improve the grounds. In 1918, the
Hohenzollern Prussian royalty left Potsdam for Holland, where they lived in
exile when the Weimar Republic came into power. Later, after World War II, the castle fell under the control of the East
German government and became a tourist attraction for the Eastern Bloc.
In 1990, after
the reunification of Germany, Sans Souci became a World Heritage Site, and currently
falls under the protection of UNESCO. The
castle is quite impressive and the gardens are extensive and truly spectacular—definitely
worth a visit.
Now, for a
quick lesson in German terminology. As
you might recall from your history classes, the castles of Europe really began
to be built in earnest in the Middle Ages, around the 11th
century. The “knight” class emerged with the feudal system. These knights were the warriors of society. They fought for their kings, they fought in
the Crusades, and they fought for their own territories. In the beginning, these knights built their
castles as defensive structures – often on top of mountains (in Germany, at
least) or with moats surrounding them, and with thick walls made of stone with
tall towers.
As time
moved forward, this class of knights became wealthier, and their focus shifted
from being concerned about security to being concerned about demonstrating
their wealth. This shift in philosophy occurred starting around
the time of the Renaissance.
In English,
we call all types of old large, residential structures of knights “castles”. However, the Germans distinguish between
them. The older, Medieval, defensive
castles in Germany are called “Burg”s.
The newer, Renaissance-style wealthy castles in Germany are called “Schloss”s
(I think of these more like palaces, or manor houses). So, Sans Souci is a Schloss. The other castles I have highlighted thus far
in this blog have been Burgs.
An
interesting side note – the famous German castle, Neuschwanstein, which is the
castle that Disney’s castle is modeled after – is actually a Schloss, but it is
built in a Burg style.
Which type of castle is more interesting to you – the older Burg, or the newer Schloss?