Belvedere on the Pfingstberg

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The Belvedere on the Pfingstberg (German: Belvedere auf dem Pfingstberg) is a palace north of the New Garden in Potsdam, Germany, at the summit of Pfingstberg hill. It was commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and built between 1847 and 1863 as a viewing platform. Because of its architecture and historical importance, the Belvedere forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin, inscribed in 1999.

History: It was commissioned by King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia and as completed is only part of a substantially more extensive project for the hilltop site. The Belvedere was built, as its name suggests, as a viewing platform for visitors and contains only two modest scale rooms for entertainment, one in each upper tower. The mural decoration of these (Roman-Etruscan and Moorish, respectively) is mostly now lost. Architecturally eclectic, the two towers are modelled on Italian Renaissance architecture whilst the wings are Roman in style and some of the detailed decoration is Greek-inspired. It was constructed between 1847 and 1863 with an interruption from 1852 to 1860. Based on sketches from the King, the architects, Ludwig Persius...