New Garden, Potsdam

The New Garden (Neuer Garten) in Potsdam is a historic park spanning 102.5 hectares, located southwest of Berlin in northern Potsdam. Bordered by the Heiliger See and Jungfernsee lakes, this garden was commissioned by Frederick William II of Prussia in 1787, shortly after his accession to the throne. The garden's development reflects the king's vision for a contemporary English landscape park, distinct from the ornate baroque gardens of Frederick the Great's nearby Sanssouci.

The New Garden was designed in the 18th-century English garden style, with naturalistic landscapes and small architectural features. Unlike the more formal 19th-century English gardens, it embraced a natural look, with untrimmed plants and a touch of rural life. Cows grazed in the park, supplying an on-site dairy, now a lakeside restaurant. Existing summer houses, known by their colors—the Brown, Red, and Green Houses—were integrated into the garden and remain today.

In 1816, during the reign of Frederick William III, the garden underwent a redesign by Peter Joseph Lenné, who was then a young gardener apprentice. Lenné preserved some original elements while transforming the park into a more extensive English landscape garden with large open spaces, expansive lawns, and wide pathways. He also created strategic sightlines connecting the New Garden with nearby landmarks such as Pfaueninsel, Glienicke, Babelsberg, and Sacrow.

The New Garden is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin," a designation awarded in 1990. The garden remains a testament to the evolving landscape design trends of the 18th and 19th centuries and reflects the historical interplay between nature, art, and royal ambition.