[2] When he was still crown prince, Frederick William II of Prussia procured property situated on lake Heiliger See, supplementing it later by the purchase of adjoining fruit gardens and vineyards.

One year after his accession to the throne work began on creating a park which in the spirit of the times was supposed to reflect contemporary garden architecture, setting it apart from the then out of fashion baroque ornamental and kitchen grounds of Frederick the Great's nearby Sanssouci.

On visits to the small principality of Anhalt-Dessau the king had become acquainted with the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site).

His eldest son, Crown Prince Wilhelm, and his wife Cecilie lived there until early in 1945, and the site was selected for the signed of the Potsdam Agreement.

Browsing cows were part of the scene in the New Garden, with their milk being processed to butter and cheese in a dairy at the northwest corner of the park (it is now a lakeshore restaurant).

[citation needed] The cold-storage ice house, erected in 1791-92 as a pyramid in the northern line-of-sight of the Marble Palace, was used to keep perishable food fresh.

This little two-level pavilion contained the library of Frederich William II, with works in French being located on the ground floor and those in German on the upper level.

Two black statues of Egyptian gods from the atelier of the sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow adorn wall recesses in the semicircular entrance area.

On the boulevard which led directly to the Marble Palace there are a number of red brick buildings also in a Dutch architectural style; these provided housing for servants as well as a charming scene when viewed from lake Heiliger See.

An artificial grotto decorated with minerals and shells on the northern end of the New Garden was constructed 1791/92 according to plans by Andreas Ludwig Krüger.

Its four low relief medallions were created by the Wohler brothers and Johann Gottfried Schadow and represent the four seasons, symbolized by four male heads at different stages of life.