Antique Temple

The Antique Temple is a small round temple in the west part of Sanssouci Park in Potsdam. Frederick the Great had the building constructed to house his collection of antique artifacts, coins and antique gems. Carl von Gontard created the building in 1768/69 near the New Palace north of the Central Alley, as a complement to the Temple of Friendship situated south of the Alley. Since 1921 the Antique Temple has been used as a mausoleum for members of the House of Hohenzollern and is not open to the public.

The Antique Temple was, like the Sanssouci Picture Gallery, envisioned from the beginning as a museum and at the time of Frederick the Great could be visited after notifying the castellan at the New Palace. Next to dozens of antique ornaments, such as marble urns, bronze figurines, tools, weights and ceramics, could be found the so-called 'Family of Lycomedes', ten life-sized marble statues on marble plinths. They came to Frederick the Great from the art collection of the French Cardinal Melchior de Polignac. Fifty busts of marble, basalt and bronze sat on brackets, 31 of which also came from Polignac's collection; the rest were from Friedrich's favourite sister, Princess Wilhelmine, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. In a square annex that could only be reached through opening a door from the round central hall, the Coin Chamber was created. Four cedar wood cupboards were filled with over 9,200 gold, silver and bronze coins, around 4,370 engraved gems and cameos, 48 marble, terra cotta and bronze reliefs, and books from Frederick the Great's archaeological library.

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