Obelisk (Potsdam)
The obelisk on the Alter Markt was built between 1753 and 1755 based on a design by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff . It reaches a height of almost 25 meters. Its location marks the common intersection of all mirror axes of the baroque predecessor building of the Nikolaikirche , the old town hall and the Barberini palace .
description
The obelisk is divided into several sections. A pyramidal, sandstone-clad substructure supports a plinth made of red marble made of two simply stepped stone layers , the end of which is a base made of white marble with festoons on the long sides and skeletonized rams' heads at the corners. The almost cube-shaped section rising above it is again clad with red marble and is closed at the top by a protruding cornice with a tooth cut . The re-entrant corners are covered with sculptural figures made of white marble representing ancient speakers.
Above the cornice there is another narrow zone made of white marble, with a sphinx also made of white marble on each corner . The 16 meter high shaft of the obelisk standing on this marble step is adorned in the lower area by four medallions with portrait heads reproduced in profile.
history
The obelisk, erected under King Friedrich II , and the surrounding facades of town houses, town hall and Nikolaikirche, which were mostly based on Italian models from 1750, were part of the redesign of the old market into a square with Roman motifs. The four portrait medallions made by the sculptor Benjamin Giese showed portraits of the Prussian electors and kings Friedrich Wilhelm , Friedrich I , Friedrich Wilhelm I and Friedrich II. The four orator figures were created by Gottlieb Heymüller , while the Sphinxes are works by Johann Peter Benkert . Red marble from Silesia and white marble from Italy were used to clad the obelisk .
The obelisk, which was badly damaged by the bombing on April 14, 1945, was dismantled down to its base and rebuilt in 1978/79 using red marble from the Soviet Union and white marble from Yugoslavia . During the reconstruction, the portraits of Hohenzollern were replaced by reliefs by the famous architects who built the oldest and most important square in the royal seat. In addition to Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff and Carl von Gontard , Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Ludwig Persius , the builders of the classicist Nikolaikirche, are shown. The portraits of the master builders were created by the sculptors Rudolf Böhm and Walter Rentzsch . The obelisk was thus transformed from a dynastic monument to an architect's monument, which is unique in Germany.
Individual evidence
- ^ Photo library of the Prussian Castles Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg
- ^ Friedrich Nicolai : Description of the royal residence cities Berlin and Potsdam. Berlin 1786, Leipzig 1993, pp. 50 f., ISBN 3-379-01465-6 .
- ↑ Information board on the obelisk, read on June 11, 2017.
- ↑ Giersberg / Knitter 1979, p. 66
- ↑ Catrin During, Albrecht Ecke: Built! Architecture guide Potsdam. Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-936872-90-3 , p. 29.
literature
- Hans-Joachim Giersberg , Hartmut Knitter: City Guide Atlas Potsdam. VEB Tourist-Verlag, Berlin / Leipzig 1979
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 23 '45.1 " N , 13 ° 3' 40.2" E