The forecast is gloomy: I fancied a three hour boat trip round the city on the Spree and Landvehrkanal, but there's no point unless there's sun all the way. So how about going back to Potsdam for 'Friederisiko' in the Neues Palais, which is a once in a lifetime exhibition?
Into breakfast at 08:00, then, and to Nordbahnhof just after 09:00; I've come here almost every morning in the last week and I'm starting to feel like a commuter. The weather is brighter than it was but there is still much cloud. I'm wearing extra layers today, just in case. The S7 is very crowded at Friedrichstraße but there are seats by Zoo.
I arrived at Potsdam Hbf around 10:10 and caught a 606 bus direct to the Neues Palais – I really did walk a long way last Thursday! At the ticket office and shop in a large marquee a little way away from the palace the ticket is €12.00 (€2.00 off with Berlin Welcome card) and comes with an audio guide and a substantial 'catalogue' of information on every significant item on display.
Into the palace at 10:45. Sadly no photos allowed inside. And this view of the outside was taken last Thursday when the sky was blue and the air was warm:
Frederick had the Neues Palais built between 1763 and 1769 as a monument to himself, after the triumph of the Seven Years War. It is the last major Baroque palace building; he called it a "Fanfaronade", a boast. He had risked everything for glory; his wars had almost ruined the country, yet they finally helped Prussia find its voice among the European powers.
He alone determined how the Neues Palais should look, both inside and out. He staged himself as ruler and philosopher, through paintings, furniture, wallpaper, marble and parquet floors. The architecture and interior design of the Neues Palais reflect what Frederick – the PR man and image-maker par excellence – wanted to be.
The Fresderisiko exhibition is huge, spread across 72 rooms on almost all of the ground and first floors of the Neues Palais. It was organised in 11 themes which can be followed in any order. A path with slightly raised edges is laid throughout to protect the wooden floors from the endless crowd of visitors. The exhibition runs for seven months, to the end of October, and even midweek and with timed tickets it's packed.
The Marble Gallery, early on my chosen route, displayed many of the luxurious materials and objects used in the decoration of Frederick's palaces; they are of great value not just in monetary terms, but also in their significance and in the message they convey. The display of the small items is superb. Oversized 'price tags' hang from some of the display cases to try to give an idea (in both German and English) of the costs.
The chandeliers were the most expensive single items, initially bought in France and then copied faithfully by local craftsmen. They are cut from very pure rock crystal which Frederick buys in large quantities in Paris; a total of some 50,000 parts if I remember correctly.
A snuff box made of chrysoprase (a greenish colour not unlike jade) is ringed by a broad band of diamonds and gold. Chrysoprase is the most valuable precious stone found in Frederick's empire; after his death, four crates of chrysoprase are found in his bedroom. In his bedroom! That's how valuable it is. He has 150 of these snuff boxes. Collecting snuff boxes made of ‘noble’ materials is his most expensive passion, and several hundred of them are listed in his estate. He is following the fashion of the time, of course, in which consuming tobacco (as snuff) – as well as collecting the boxes – expresses a refined way of living.
I was particularly attracted to a large cylindrical ‘snowball vase’. Standing three feet or so high, and 15-18 inches diameter, it was covered by thousands of tiny snowball flowers, almost touching, each about half an inch across, with delicate pink decoration. 'Handles' on either side of the vase were in the shape of birds, and were modelled and painted from life. The vase was produced by the Meissen factory, which Frederick had 'acquired' when his army occupied Saxony. As well as being beautiful in itself it was technically difficult to make; in other words it was expensive.
Later, in a waiting room for visiting foreign leaders and diplomats, I counted 22 such snowball vases on shelves around the walls; the room was expressly designed to show his visitors that Frederick is a man of great wealth, taste and importance. But no-one really knows the true cost of building and furnishing the Neues Palais, as Frederick had all the invoices sent for his personal attention, and destroyed them.
In the Concert Room – scene of that painting by Adolph Menzel – was Frederick's flute, made by his teacher Quantz around 1750, in its case. Clearly he had more than one (there's another in Schloss Sanssouci, for a start) and this instrument is split into six sections so was perhaps a travelling model. Also a 1747 piano by the great organ builder Gottfried Silbermann; Frederick bought another from Silbermann in 1746 which is now in Schloss Sanssouci.
The 'private rooms' reveal something of the regular daily routine of the man. In particular a bright Reading Chamber where he spends several hours each day; his modest library of books is almost entirely in French, the smart language of the day. He wants to be taken seriously as a writer in French, and works hard on his grammar. The menu for his midday meal each day is presented to him the previous evening; an example on display shows he makes extensive changes, and requests a menu of several courses only a few days before his death.
I came out of the Neues Palais after three hours at 13:50. Spent a short time in the shop, then off to find the bus stop to return to the station. Caught the 14:36 bus, and was on the S7 towards Berlin by 15:00.
