IN SEARCH OF OLD FRITZ 253(1754-7, Plate 23), a fanciful circular pavilion designed by Frederick
in collaboration with Johann Gottfried Biiring. This folly was set in a
shady grove and furnished with deep verandahs, and on very hot days
Frederick was fond of taking his guests there for lunch. Dogs were
included in the invitation, and extra portions of roast veal were set
aside for their enjoyment.
The park was closed at its western end by some constructions
that were a world removed from the spirit of Sans Souci. The Neues
Palais (1763-9), with its great fagade and tall central cupola, was
built to give employment to native craftsmen, and to serve as a
Fanfarronade, or gesture of defiance, on the part of the Prussian
monarchy after the ordeal of the Seven Years War. To the rear, the
pompous cour d'honneur formed an architectural ensemble with the
heavy colonnade and two box-like houses of the Communs,which
were built to accommodate the palace servants and visiting officers,
and to screen the boggy wastelands which extended beyond the park.
Within the palace, the Marble Hall and other chambers were impres-
sive to an intimidating degree, but we detect little of the distinctive
influence of Frederick. Neo-classical detailing, like the medallion
busts set above some of the doors, ran counter to the king's rococo
tastes, and we know that he detested the kind of activity celebrated in
the Jagdkammer, with its representations of defunct herons, deer and
wild boar.
Significantly, the Neues Palais was not allowed to dominate the
Sans Souci park, and only the merest glimpse of the facade could be
sighted at the end of the slot-like central avenue once the trees had
grown to a respectable height. In inspiration and purpose the Neues
Palais was a public building. It was never intended for prolonged
periods of residence, but it provided a magnificent setting for the
receptions, balls and operas that were held on the occasion of the
manoeuvres and the annual gathering of the royal family.
At Sans Souci, on the other hand, everything was calculated for
convenience and privacy. No guest came there uninvited. No provi-
sion was made to accommodate the queen or the ladies of the royal
family. There was no chapel royal, no pompous retinue of officials of
the household, and no glittering bodyguard. A corporal and four
soldiers arrived from Potsdam town every evening, and their princi-
pal duty was to stand watch over the king's peaches and apricots
overnight.
In peacetime Frederick led a regular life which made it possible
for contemporaries to establish the externals of his existence with
great precision. The New Year found him in the Berlin Stadtschloss,
enduring what was for him the tedious commotion of the Carnival.
Etiquette decreed that he must remain there for the anniversary of his