New Palace

The New Palace closes the western end of Sanssouci Park and is, with more than 200 rooms, the largest of the Potsdam Hohenzollern palaces. Frederick the Great built it from 1763 to 1769 after the Seven Years' War to convince Europe that Prussia's finances remained intact, which is why he called the building his own fanfaronnade. The three-winged design by Johann Gottfried Buering, Heinrich Ludwig Manger and Carl von Gontard shows Frederician rococo, with a red brick facade that only imitates ashlar masonry. Inside, the Grotto Hall lined with minerals and shells, the oval Marble Hall and the original court theatre stand out. Wilhelm II used it as his preferred residence until 1918; today it is UNESCO-listed and fully open again since 2021.