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Originally know just as the "Cemetery Chapel," then, after a new cemetery opened as the "Old Cemetery Chapel" this master piece of Neoclassicism is now named after its designer, Prussian architect Ferdinand von Arnim.
Potsdam's Old Cemetery opened in 1796. The chapel was dedicated in 1851. Architect Ferdinand von Arnim, a student of the great Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed it in the style of a Roman villa.
The stucco pediment (below), depicting thee angels putting a dead body to rest was done by Friedrich Wilhelm Koch.
The chapel was damaged during the bombings of World War II. After the war, it was used as office building, causing a lot of deterioration of the interior design.
Today, the chapel is considered one of the most prominent examples of Neoclassicism in the state. It was completely restored in 2017. The chapel can be admired from the outside every day, but the interior is open to the public only on special occasions.
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