Tod, Glück und Ruhm in Sanssouci

Frederick the Great as a gardener? That is something new. In fact, however, under Frederick’s idiosyncratic guidance, the garden at Sanssouci became a mirror of his personal and political roles. Paths, plantings, architecture, and sculptures express his notions of death, happiness, and fame. Frederick used famous forms of mythological representation, as well as mysterious allegorical allusions and emblematic references. The “axis of knowledge” defined his Prussian Arcadia as the best of all possible worlds, where the “philosopher of Sanssouci” and his friends devoted themselves to the arts and sciences. The “axis of power,” on the other hand, represents his fame and ambition as a European monarch who legitimized his rule not only via the Hohenzoller and Orange dynasties, but also through the tradition of the pharaohs, the Roman emperors, and Louis XIV, the Sun King.