Here you're immediately reminded of Rome, of St. Peter's Square with its colonnades, a masterpiece by the architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini. There they frame the square in front of St. Peter's Basilica, the centre of the Roman Catholic church.

And here in Potsdam? It scarcely believable, but the magnificent pavilions across from the New Palace are nothing more than utility buildings, the Communs. This is where servants lived and the court administration worked. And just imagine: the royal kitchens were located on the ground floor of the left Commun. The food, which was taken to the palace over the courtyard and later through a subterranean tunnel, was certainly cold by the time it reached its destination.

The Communs with the colonnades at the western end of Sanssouci Park look like a stage set. They strengthen the impression that Frederick wanted to turn Potsdam into the Rome of the north. The architect who designed the complex in 1766 was Carl von Gontard.

From the two domes, the goddesses Fama and Fortuna gleam as golden figures for miles around. They proclaim Frederick's fame, very much as they would have done for the Caesars, the emperors in ancient Rome – who served Frederick as the measure for his own grandeur.