(1712-1786, King of Prussia 1740-1786)
Frederick II, son of the "Soldier King", it so proved to be a stroke of good fortune for Potsdam. In 1744, i.e. soon after his accession to the throne, he renewed the decision of his great grandfather to make Potsdam a second residence and thus took over his father’s inheritance in the town.
With the money he received from the occupation of East Friesia, he had the City Palace – which his father had used but also neglected to maintain – renovated and enlarged between 1744 and 1756. Frederick had von Knobelsdorff build – according to his own plans – the palace which today symbolises Potsdam all over the world: Sanssouci (1745-1753).
Famous contemporaries of Frederick, Voltaire for example, spread Potsdam's renown. From 1763 to 1769 the New Palace was built. In the town itself the King had old houses torn down to replace them with more representative ones by his architects, such as the Hiller-Brandtschen houses. He wasn’t much interested whether the people could also actually live behind the façades which were partially designed by him. On average twenty new houses were built per year.
Despite all his efforts to bring the French spirit into Prussia and Potsdam, Frederick II was well aware of the cultural differences between the Prussian monarchy and other European states. In 1781 he issued a resigned assessment: "We imitate the great powers without being one."
It was not until 1991 that Frederick II was at last buried according to his wish on the terrace in front of his Sanssouci Palace.
