Worry-free Palace
Sanssouci Palace is located in the northern suburbs of Potsdam, Germany. On January 13, 1745, Frederick the Great ordered the construction of Potsdam's palace. According to Frederick the Great's order, the architect of the palace, Georg Wenceslaus von Knobelsdorff, built it in imitation of the Palace of Versailles in France.
The palace is named after the French word for "no worries" or "no sorrow". The entire palace and gardens cover an area of 90 hectares. Because it is built on a hill, it is also called the "Palace on the Dune". The main hall of the palace has a semi-spherical roof in the middle, and the two wings are long conical ridge buildings. The center of the hall is a round hall. The magnificent prime minister's hall has an imaginative ceiling decoration and the walls are inlaid with gold, which is dazzling.
The interior is decorated with murals and mirrors, which is brilliant and dazzling. There are 6 parallel arched steps in front of the palace, and the sides and surroundings are set off by emerald green forests. There is a fountain in front of the palace, facing the porch of the main hall. This fountain is made of round petal stone carvings, surrounded by four round flower beds of "fire", "water", "earth" and "air". There are statues of gods in the flower beds, especially the statues of Venus and Mercury, which are exquisitely shaped and vivid.
It is said that there are more than 1,000 stone sculptures based on Greek mythology in the palace. There is also a gallery on the east side of the palace that houses 124 famous paintings, most of which are masterpieces by Italian and Dutch painters during the Renaissance. The gallery is spacious and bright, and concerts are held here during festivals. There is a hexagonal pavilion in the garden, which uses traditional Chinese green tiles, golden columns, umbrella-shaped roofs, and floor-to-ceiling columns. It is called the "Chinese Tea Pavilion". The tables and chairs in the pavilion are completely made in oriental style, and a Chinese incense burner stands in front of the pavilion. The Palace of Carefree Palace is the essence of German architectural art in the 18th century. The entire construction project lasted for 50 years. Although it has experienced war, it has not been bombarded by artillery fire and is still well preserved.
And today our little William is about to enter the largest royal palace in Prussia, which is also the administrative center of Prussia.
Little William followed the carriage into the Sans Souci Palace and was dazzled by the palace in front of him. When the carriage stopped in front of the palace, little William was led down by Baron Buel. The guards at the door lined up in two rows, and his mother, Queen Louise, led many nobles to stand in the middle.
"Greetings, His Royal Highness." Except for Princess Louise, everyone else bowed their heads and saluted.
"Mom, I'm back." Little William ran to Louise's arms without paying attention to others, and Louise hugged him tightly and said:
"My poor little William, you're finally back," Louise said as she burst into tears.
"Mother, don't cry. I'm back and I won't leave. Thank you all for taking the time to come greet me. William is deeply sorry." After comforting Louise, William bowed to everyone and said.
"It is our honor to welcome His Royal Highness," everyone said after hearing William's thanks.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, Your Highness, and all the others, let's go in. His Majesty the King is still waiting in the hall," Buel reminded.
After hearing Buell's words, everyone surrounded William and his mother and walked towards the hall.
A throne was placed in the center of the hall, an old man sat on the throne, and a middle-aged man stood beside him. Needless to say, the old man was Frederick the Great, and the middle-aged man was His Royal Highness Crown Prince Frederick William II.
The emperor was already 65 years old, with half a hair, skinny, and many wrinkles on his face like a man in his 70s or 80s, and his back was hunched. But the emperor's piercing eyes were still bright, and anyone who was seen by the emperor's eyes would feel as if the most private part of their heart was seen by others, which made people shudder. Now only the emperor's eyes can make you feel that this is the famous European lord Frederick the Great.
"Her Royal Highness Princess Louise and His Royal Highness Prince William have arrived," the attendant at the door said loudly, and in the hall, except for the Emperor and the Crown Prince, many nobles stood on both sides with their heads bowed and saluted.
Princess Louise took William's hand and slowly walked to the steps of the throne to salute
"Your Majesty the King"
"My little William, come to me and show me," Frederick the Great said after hearing their respectful greetings.
When little William heard Frederick the Great's call, he walked up the stairs step by step, his eyes looking directly at Frederick. Frederick the Great was not angry but greeted him happily:
"A good boy, you have the spirit of a man from our Hohenzollern family." Then he glanced at Crown Prince Frederick William II standing next to him and said:
"Little William, meet your father"
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince," William said honestly, and Frederick William II frowned after hearing the greeting from little William.
"Get up," he said, and then ignored little William.
Seeing this, Frederick was very dissatisfied. He stood up from his seat, took William's hand, and said loudly to the people at the bottom of the stairs:
"Frederick William III, my grandson, my Prince of Brandenburg"
When everyone in the hall heard Frederick's voice, they all exclaimed.
Prince of Brandenburg is not a simple title. You should know that Brandenburg is the capital of Prussia. And before William the Younger, there was a Prince of Brandenburg, that is, Prince Friedrich of Brandenburg - the later King of Prussia, Friedrich William I, the father of Frederick the Great - the famous soldier king.
After seeing the people in the hall causing some commotion because of his words, Frederick the Great roared in dissatisfaction:
"Silence, my grandson William will be taught by me personally." After ignoring everyone's exclamations and discussions, Frederick the Great took William out. When William's father, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, heard Frederick the Great's order, his face turned livid and stern.
Looking at Frederick the Great holding his hand, little William couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion:
This heroic ruler put all his energy into developing national strength and rectifying the army. Frederick lived a simple life and often went to the barracks to share the joys and sorrows with the soldiers. Even if we ignore his deeds as a politician and his contribution to legislation, his military performance alone is enough to make him a place in history. In the works of Western military historians, Frederick the Great is recognized as a military great man on par with Alexander the Great, Caesar the Great, Hannibal, Gustav II, and Napoleon.
"Little William, the Duke of Bern of Bavaria is dead." While Little William was still sighing, Frederick the Great stopped and said calmly
"Your Majesty, does it look like we will have to go to war with Austria again?" Little William asked after hearing his words.
"It seems it is inevitable. I heard that Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II often have different opinions on state affairs, and the ministers of the two factions often clash. I hope that this time Bavaria can be dealt with before she reacts. I want Prince Henry to inherit Bavaria. What do you think?" Frederick said and asked little William.