Guided Tours
Have you never seen Old Fritz’s art collection? Are you interested in the king’s sleeping habits and the many architectural gimmicks that Frederick the Great implemented at Sanssouci? Exciting themed tours are offered in the park and its historic buildings on Palace Night, which will satisfy your curiosity and answer your questions.
NEW: Digitally guided tours of Sanssouci Park every day with additional images, audio and video content in the Sanssouci app. Simply download here.
On both evenings of the Potsdamer Schlössernacht, you can look forward to a total of five different themed tours at various locations in the grounds of Sanssouci Palace Park. Each tour takes place four times per evening. The tours are free of charge and can be attended without registration. You will find plants from long forgotten times and distant regions on your way through the greenhouses of the botanical garden and in the park nursery.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
SANSSOUCI – WITHOUT WORRIES
Venue: Schloss Sanssouci | 5:30 pm | 6:15 pm | 7:15 pm | 8:15 pm
Location: Sanssouci Palace | 6:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m.
Content
Prussian King Frederick II had his summer palace Sanssouci built on a hill. From here you have a breathtaking view of the park. During the tour you will learn more about the ruins of the hill, the palace, the vineyard terraces and the king’s crypt.
Meeting point
Sanssouci Palace, Ehrenhof
ROYAL CHERRIES
Venue: Neue Kammern | 5:30 pm | 6:30 pm | 7:30 pm | 8:30 pm
Location: Puttenmauer below the picture gallery | 5:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 8:30 p.m.
Content
King Frederick the Great had fruit and vegetables grown in Sanssouci Park as well as flowers; beauty and usefulness were very important to him. A garden area with the king’s favorite fruit – cherries – was created below the New Chambers of Sanssouci. The cook Charlotte Retzloff talks about her employer, Frederick’s great-nephew, and reports on everyday life at the (kitchen) court.
AN ITALIEN DREAM
Venue: Neue Kammern | 5:30 pm | 6:30 pm | 7:30 pm | 8:45 pm t: Puttenmauer unterhalb der Bildergalerie | 17:30 Uhr | 18:30 Uhr | 19:30 Uhr | 20:30 Uhr
Location: Puttenmauer below the picture gallery | 5:30 pm | 6:30 pm | 7:30 pm | 8:30 pm
Content
The Prussian King Frederick William IV’s longing for Italy led to the creation of a garden inspired by Mediterranean Renaissance gardens.Learn more about the history and the potted plants on this tour.
INFORMATION IN THE NEW CHAMBERS OF SANSSOUCI
Place: New Chambers | 17:00 to 23:30 pm
BRIDGE ART IN SANSSOUCI
Venue: Oranierrondell | 6:15 pm | 7:00 pm | 8:00 pm | 9:00 pm
Location: Oranierrondell | 6:00 p.m. | 7:00 p.m. | 8:00 p.m. | 9:00 p.m.
Content
A palace garden needs water and where there is water, there are often bridges. Follow the water along the Schafgraben and learn more about the Bullenbrücke, Tritonenbrücke and Wiesenwegbrücke bridges.
Information in the Picture Gallery
Venue: Picture Gallery | 5:00 to 11:30 pm
MEDITERRANEAN SANSSOUCI
Venue: Orangerieschloss | 5:30 pm | 6:30 pm | 7:30 pm | 8:30 pm
Location: Orangery Palace | 5:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. | 8:30 p.m.
Content
The Orangery Palace was built in the middle of the 19th century according to the exact plans of King Frederick William IV. Around 1000 potted plants such as oranges, laurel and pomegranate spend the winter in the plant halls, and in summer they beautify the park and give the place a Mediterranean feel.
Meeting point
Orangery Palace, building sign in front of the eastern plant hall
THE PARK NURSERY
28 | Venue: Parkgärtnerei | 5:00 to 11:30 pm
From spring to autumn, countless visitors enjoy the flowers in the parks of the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation. During the Palace Night, the breeding ground of these flowers, the mother plant quarter of the park nursery, is opened. Take the opportunity to learn more about the living tradition of garden art and visit the Sanssouci park nursery during the Palace Night. The gardeners at the park nursery put a lot of effort and diligence into growing the flowers, planting the beds and caring for them. Unlike in many commercial nurseries, growing plants here is still a traditional craft that needs to be mastered. No machines are used to prick out and repot the plants; even today it is still done by hand.
Enjoy the variety of flowers, foliage plants and herbs on the Schlössernachtabend and find out more – perhaps the professionals on site will reveal a few secrets of gardening that you were previously unaware of…
SHEEP GRAZING IN SANSSOUCI PARK
35 | Venue: Wiesenweg | 5:30 to 8:30 pm
Place: Wiesenbrückenweg | 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Since 2018, ecological meadow maintenance has been carried out by sheep in Sanssouci Park. This makes a direct contribution to nature conservation, because unlike the heavy machinery that was used to mow the land until 2018, the animals do not consume diesel and do not unnecessarily compact the soil in the sensitive parks.
The animals in the park are Guteschafe sheep, one of the oldest domestic sheep breeds, originally from Sweden. What is special about them: Both sexes have snail-shaped horns. The animals are very robust and frugal and are therefore regularly used in nature reserves. Good sheep are also curious and relaxed in contact with people.
Find out what it means to be a shepherdess in Sanssouci Park.
For the welfare of the animals, visitors are asked not to enter the meadow areas, which are enclosed by mobile electric fences.
Chinese House
Venue: Chinesisches Haus | 5:00 to 11:30 pm
Exhibition: RE:GENERATION – CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE GREEN WORLD HERITAGE – AND WHAT WE CAN DO
Short insights into the exhibition via guide at 6 / 7 / 8 pm, meeting point at the entrance to the Chinese House
Man-made climate change is also affecting Sanssouci Park in Potsdam. Extreme heat, intense sunlight and persistent drought have damaged almost 80 percent of the trees in the UNESCO World Heritage park. Between 160 and 300 of them have had to be felled every year since 2017. The gardeners and conservationists at the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG) have long been researching how the trees’ resilience to the effects of climate change can be strengthened. In the open-air exhibition, which takes place in the heart of Sanssouci Park, the SPSG shares its findings with visitors. Numerous approaches, strategies and progress are presented at many exhibition stations. Interested visitors will also receive tips on how they can help protect the environment and the climate in their everyday lives. Near the Western Vineyard Terraces, for example, the focus is on water, while northwest of the Chinese House information is provided on tree life and death. The exhibition not only highlights problems and challenges, but also presents ideas, scientific approaches and pioneering experiments. For example, visitors will learn about a promising new generation of trees in an “oak nursery” and can experience a variety of alternative and water-saving irrigation methods in action. The Fürst-Pückler-Museum – Park and Palace Branitz Foundation is also a guest with a station and will be presenting its work as part of the cooperation “Historic Gardens in a Changing Climate. Perspectives for the green cultural heritage of Sanssouci and Branitz” and will be presenting its tree university. The exhibition is complemented by a variety of suggestions on how visitors can become active themselves. Particularly important here is the importance of joint commitment to the protection of climate and nature – because only together can we shape a future for the World Heritage Site.
© SPSG / Reinhardt & Sommer