Belvedere auf dem Klausberg
Encyclopedia
The Belvedere auf dem Klausberg is a building in Sanssouci Park
in Potsdam
, Germany
.
archeologist Francesco Bianchini
from his 1738 volume Del Palazzo de' Cesari. Biancini had tried to reconstruct the Imperial Palace on the Palatine Hill
in ancient Rome
. The only sources he used were ancient writers, parts of the ruins, and an inscription of a building with fountains on a coin he found in the Nero
-erected market marcelum magnum in Rome
. The ancient gold piece shows an enclosed room, an open rotunda with a vaulted ceiling, and attached on both sides to open walkways.
The dome over the vaulted ceiling is decorated with the statues of twenty figures of divinities made out of sandstone
, which were finished in different sculptors' workshops. Through the eight arched french doors, light enters the building's two rooms, one on top of the other. The upper room can only be reached by the stairs, while the lower room has a door between the stairs on the platform.
n marble
and vases of red jasper
between, as well as above, the french doors. The trapezoid-shaped grey marble slabs of the floor formed an eight-pointed star in the center of the room.
The star motif
from the floor was continued on the vaulted ceiling, where white marble framing the ceiling tapered off in the middle. The room's simple furnishings consisted of 16 carved gilt
chairs with red leather seats.
In the upper, restored, room, the walls are covered with soft green marble (celadon
), which makes the light shimmer light blue. There are gilt ornaments of plaster bordering the french windows. The parquet floors form trapezoids made up of different kinds of wood. The ceiling, painted by Karl Christian Wilhelm Baron und Friedrich Wilhelm Bock, was covered with clouds and different kinds of birds; it was reconstructed using an old black-and-white photo. Here too the furniture consisted of 16 carved gilt chairs, which had green leather cushions to match the walls.
Sanssouci Park
Sanssouci Park is a large park surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in the structure. A baroque flower garden with lawns, flower beds, hedges and trees was created. In the hedge...
in Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Architecture
Georg Christian Unger based his plans on a drawing by the ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
archeologist Francesco Bianchini
Francesco Bianchini
Francesco Bianchini was an Italian philosopher and scientist. He worked for the curia of three popes, including being camiere d`honore of Clement XI, and secretary of the commission for the reform of the calendar, working on the method to calculate the astronomically correct date for Easter in a...
from his 1738 volume Del Palazzo de' Cesari. Biancini had tried to reconstruct the Imperial Palace on the Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill
The Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
in ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. The only sources he used were ancient writers, parts of the ruins, and an inscription of a building with fountains on a coin he found in the Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
-erected market marcelum magnum in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. The ancient gold piece shows an enclosed room, an open rotunda with a vaulted ceiling, and attached on both sides to open walkways.
Exterior structure
Like the Fountain temple of the ancients, the Belvedere also has a round floor plan. The enclosed building is surrounded on the lower level by a platform with twenty ionic columns. They are supported in turn with twenty corinthian columns on the upper level. This column ring opens to the west and to the east through balcony-like attachments.The dome over the vaulted ceiling is decorated with the statues of twenty figures of divinities made out of sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
, which were finished in different sculptors' workshops. Through the eight arched french doors, light enters the building's two rooms, one on top of the other. The upper room can only be reached by the stairs, while the lower room has a door between the stairs on the platform.
Interior space
The lower room has not yet been restored since the destruction of 1945. In the 18th century, its decorations included a walls of white SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
n marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
and vases of red jasper
Jasper
Jasper, a form of chalcedony, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for vases, seals, and at one time for...
between, as well as above, the french doors. The trapezoid-shaped grey marble slabs of the floor formed an eight-pointed star in the center of the room.
The star motif
Motif (art)
In art, a motif is an element of a pattern, an image or part of one, or a theme. A motif may be repeated in a design or composition, often many times, or may just occur once in a work. A motif may be an element in the iconography of a particular subject or type of subject that is seen in other...
from the floor was continued on the vaulted ceiling, where white marble framing the ceiling tapered off in the middle. The room's simple furnishings consisted of 16 carved gilt
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
chairs with red leather seats.
In the upper, restored, room, the walls are covered with soft green marble (celadon
Celadon
Celadon is a term for ceramics denoting both a type of glaze and a ware of a specific color, also called celadon. This type of ware was invented in ancient China, such as in the Zhejiang province...
), which makes the light shimmer light blue. There are gilt ornaments of plaster bordering the french windows. The parquet floors form trapezoids made up of different kinds of wood. The ceiling, painted by Karl Christian Wilhelm Baron und Friedrich Wilhelm Bock, was covered with clouds and different kinds of birds; it was reconstructed using an old black-and-white photo. Here too the furniture consisted of 16 carved gilt chairs, which had green leather cushions to match the walls.