Marmorpalais

The Marmorpalais is an early neoclassical summer palace on the Heiliger See in Potsdam's Neuer Garten, built between 1787 and 1793 for King Frederick William II of Prussia. Architects Carl von Gontard and Carl Gotthard Langhans clad the square brick structure with Silesian marble on pilasters, cornices, and columns, giving the palace its name. Frederick William II, who found his predecessor's Sanssouci old-fashioned, used the Marble Palace as an intimate retreat for himself and his mistress Wilhelmine Encke, later Countess Lichtenau. The palace is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin." It opens as a museum today with largely original interiors, including the Turkish-themed concert room and the antique-style grotto hall.