The Crown Prince and Princess Wilhelm and Cecilie had a rather modest looking English country house built instead of a prestigious palace. But appearances can be deceiving. In fact, the last Hohenzollern palace has 176 rooms.
Bigger Than it Seems
From a bird's eye view you can see that Cecilienhof is by no means a cottage. The architect, Paul Schultze-Naumburg, skilfully concealed the size of the house required for the royal court by alternately grouping and staggering the building sections.
Asymmetrical Layout
Loosely connected sections of the house are grouped around a large driveway courtyard, a smaller garden courtyard and three service courtyards. This irregular arrangement is typical of the Tudor style.
Tudor Style
Smithills Hall in Greater Manchester is an example of an English country house in the Tudor style. It has been rebuilt several times since the 14th century. The timber-framed and brick façade, irregular layout and many chimneys are typical features.
Tudor Revival
The Tudor style came back into fashion in the second half of the 19th century. An example in Germany is the hunting lodge Gelbensande (built 1885-87), where Crown Princess Cecilie spent part of her childhood. Also her engagement took place here in 1904.
Potsdam Cottage Style
The crown prince couple wanted a modern home with conveniences such as electricity, running water, heating. Cecilienhof Palace, named after the crown princess and modelled on English houses, was built to the north of the New Garden between 1913 and 1917.
Cecilienhof Palace, view of the palace from Jungfernsee (2019/2019) by André StiebitzCecilienhof Palace
Bay Front of the Palace
The front of the palace, with the imposing bay window of the central drawing room, faces the nearby Jungfernsee lake.
So what is 'typically Tudor' about Cecilienhof? Let's take a closer look at some of the details and compare them with historical English models. Let's start with the rows of pointed or triangular gables. In comparison: Left - Cecilienhof Palace, Potsdam, built between 1913 and 1917 / Right - Speke Hall, Liverpool, built around 1490-1613.
The rustic brick and sandstone of the ground floor is contrasted by the decorative timberwork of the upper floors, with a variety of ornamental forms. Left: Cecilienhof Palace - Right: Gawsworth Old Hall, Cheshire, built between 1480 and 1600.
Patterns such as herringbone and quatrefoil are based on historical models. The stained glass windows in Cecilienhof are also patterned differently. Left: Cecilienhof Palace - Right: Little Moreton Hall, Cheshire, built in the 16th century.
Symmetry is not a feature of the Tudor style; on the contrary, the diversity of the building is emphasised by the use of bays and pediments. The diagonally projecting bay of Cecilienhof takes this into account. Left: Cecilienhof Palace - Right: Tudor House, Southampton, built in the 15th century.
Another typical feature of the Tudor style is the large number of differently patterned red brick chimneys. At Cecilienhof, however, not all the flues were used as chimneys. Some were connected to an ingenious ventilation system. Left: Cecilienhof Palace - Right: Bramall Hall, Greater Manchester, built in the 16th century.
The red brick chimneys are not only all decorated differently, but some are grouped together. Left: Cecilienhof Palace - Right: Hampton Court Palace, London, built between the 16th and 18th centuries.
The central hall, with its striking bay windows, extends over two floors and is twelve metres high. However, unlike its historic counterparts, the ceiling construction, with its gable trusses and massive arched bracing, is more decorative than structural. Left: Cecilienhof Palace - Right: Smithills Hall, Bolton, Greater Manchester, built in the 15th century.
The typical wood panelling is found in many rooms. The vestibule is decorated with a carved linen pleat pattern. Left: Cecilienhof Palace - Right: Sutton House, London, built in the 16th century.
Cecilienhof Palace, hotel terrace (2023/2023) by Leo SeidelCecilienhof Palace
The crown prince's preference for English architecture resulted in Cecilienhof, a palace in the English country house style, a piece of England in the heart of Potsdam's New Garden.
Curator: Sonja Puras, Cecilienhof Palace, SPSG
Project management: Nicole Romberg, Social Media Manager, SPSG
Picture credits
SPSG (unless otherwise stated)
