# Ruinenberg > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ruinenberg > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ruinenberg.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruinenberg > Source revision: 1320732101 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Hill in Potsdam, Germany}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}} thumb|300px|Norman Tower, Theatre Wall and tank The '''Ruinenberg''' is a hill in the [Bornstedt](/source/Bornstedt_(Potsdam)) borough of [Potsdam](/source/Potsdam), located north of [Sanssouci Park](/source/Sanssouci_Park). In 1748, the [Prussian](/source/Kingdom_of_Prussia) king [Frederick the Great](/source/Frederick_the_Great) had a [water tank](/source/water_tank) with a capacity of around {{convert|7600|m3|cuft}} built on top to supply the Sanssouci [water feature](/source/water_feature)s, and had it decorated with [artificial ruins](/source/artificial_ruins). From 1841 a surrounding [landscape garden](/source/landscape_garden) was laid out at the behest of King [Frederick William IV of Prussia](/source/Frederick_William_IV_of_Prussia), according to plans designed by [Peter Joseph Lenné](/source/Peter_Joseph_Lenn%C3%A9). ==History== The lands around the former ''Hünenberg'' hill had been part of the [partridge](/source/partridge) and [pheasant](/source/pheasant) hunting grounds of Frederick's father King [Frederick William I of Prussia](/source/Frederick_William_I_of_Prussia). His son Frederick the Great began the erection of [Sanssouci Palace](/source/Sanssouci_Palace) in 1745. Frederick wanted a lot of water for his then planned projects: a fountain complex, the [Neptune Grotto](/source/Neptune_Grotto), and a marble colonnade in [Sanssouci Park](/source/Sanssouci_Park), which is no longer standing. The plans intended to draw water from the [Havel](/source/Havel) with windmills into the high basin on the mountain. It then flowed under the park through a tubular system of hollowed tree trunks, which was to bring the water up into the fountains. Though the king poured a great deal of money into the project, it yielded no success because of the technical ignorance of his men. After many years of effort, Frederick's dream of fountains was finally given up in 1780. In a letter to [Voltaire](/source/Voltaire), he wrote in 1778:
I wanted to have a water jet in my garden: [Euler](/source/Euler) calculated the force of the wheels necessary to raise the water to a reservoir, from where it should fall back through channels, finally spurting out in Sans Souci. My mill was carried out geometrically and could not raise a mouthful of water closer than fifty paces to the reservoir. [Vanity of vanities](/source/Vanity_of_vanities)! Vanity of geometry!
Master Builder [Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff](/source/Georg_Wenzeslaus_von_Knobelsdorff) and Theater Painter [Innocente Bellavite](/source/Innocente_Bellavite) designed blinds of imitation antique ruins. A [Monopteros](/source/Monopteros) (round temple), three high [ionic column](/source/ionic_column)s, a small pyramid, and a ruined wall, designed as if from a [Roman](/source/Roman_architecture) theatre, were grouped around the pool.{{cite book |last1=Streidt |first1=Gert |last2=Frahm |first2=Klaus |editor1-last=Leuthäuser |editor1-first=Gabriele |editor2-last=Feierabend |editor2-first=Peter |title=Potsdam |date=1996 |publisher=Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH |location=Köln |isbn=9783895082382 |pages=46–49}} thumb|225px|The Pump House on the Havel Around a century after the construction of Sanssouci, [Friedrich Wilhelm IV](/source/Friedrich_Wilhelm_IV) realized Frederick's dream. Through new technical possibilities of the [steam engine](/source/steam_engine) and a modern piping system, the fountains were put into place. A building was erected especially for the steam engine ([August Borsig](/source/August_Borsig)) and its pump machine from 1841 to 1843 on the shore of the Havel. Disguised as a mosque, it was designed by [Ludwig Persius](/source/Ludwig_Persius). Persius also had plans to extend the theater wall on the Ruinenberg with a {{convert|23|m|ft}} high look-out tower, in imitation of a medieval watchtower. After his early death, the so-called ''Norman Tower'' was built by [Ferdinand von Arnim](/source/Ferdinand_von_Arnim) in 1846. ==References== {{reflist}} *The information in this article is based on a translation of its German equivalent. ==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20060105232101/http://www.spsg.de/index.php?id=1004 The Ruinenberg, the Nordic Garden and Sicilian Garden, and the Potentestück] *[http://www.spsg.de/index.php?id=155 The Steam Engine Building] *{{in lang|de}} [http://www.spsg.de/index.php?id=160 The Norman Tower] *[http://www.potsdam-tour.co.uk/?lc=20 Potsdam from Above – Ruinenberg] {{Authority control}} {{coord|52|24|35.50|N|13|02|16.60|E|region:DE-BB_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=title}} Category:Geography of Potsdam Category:Buildings and structures in Potsdam Category:Sanssouci Park --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ruinenberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruinenberg) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruinenberg?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.