Temple of Friendship

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The Temple of Friendship (German: Freundschaftstempel) is a small, round temple in the western part of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam. It was built by Friedrich the Great of Prussia in memory of his favorite sister, Markgravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth, who died in 1758. The Temple of Friendship was built south of the main alley from 1768 to 1770 by Carl von Gontard, to complement the Antique Temple, which lies due north of the alley.

[edit] The Neuruppin Pavilion

The basis for the Temple of Friendship was the Temple of Apollo in the Amalthea Garden of Neuruppin. The first work of architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, it was built in the flower and nut gardens by Crown Prince Frederick (later Frederick the Great) at his residence there, where he lived from 1732-1735 while he was the commander of a regiment there.

The Temple of Apollo was an open round temple, which was closed by a brick wall between its columns in 1791. In August 1735, Fredrick described the building to his sister Wilhelmine: "...Das Gartenhaus ist ein Tempel aus acht dorischen Säulen die eine Kuppel tragen. Auf ihr steht die Statue des Apollos. Sobald es fertig ist, werden wir Opfer darbringen - natürlich Dir, liebe Schwester, der Beschützerin der schönen Künste." (..."The garden house is a temple of eight doric columns holding up a domed roof. On it stands a statue of Apollo. As soon as it is finished, we shall bring it a sacrifice - naturally it will be you, dear sister, protectress of the fine arts.")

[edit] The Sanssouci Pavilion

To honor his favorite sister's memory, Frederick decided, as in Neurippin, to build a round temple, whose shallow domed roof is supported by eight corinthian columns. This form, typical of a monopteros, has its origins in ancient Greece, where such buildings were erected over cult statues and grave markers.

The life-sized statue of a seated Wilhelmine of Bayreuth in a shallow alcove on the temple wall, comes from the workshop of the sculptor brothers Johann David and Johann Lorenz Whilhem Räntz. For a model for the marble figure, they used a painting by the court painter Antoine Pesne. The medallions on the columns of ancient personalities and the book the statue shows in her hand, stem from the Markgravine and her love of that age.

[edit] References

• The information in this article is based on that in its German equivalent.
• Generaldirektion der Stiftung Schlösser und Gärten Potsdam-Sanssouci (Hrsg.): Potsdamer Schlösser und Gärten. Bau und Gartenkunst vom 17. bis 20. Jahrhundert. UNZE VG mbH, Potsdam 1993 ISBN 3-910196-14-4