A soldier in the service of Prussia, Knobelsdorff resigned his commission in 1729 as captain so that he could pursue his interest in architecture. In 1740 he travelled to Paris and Italy to study at the expense of the new king, Frederick II of Prussia.
Knobelsdorff was the headzorz custodian of the royal building and a secret council on financial matters. In 1746 he was fired by the king and Johann Boumann finished all his projects, including Sanssouci.
Karl Begas the younger created a statue of Knobelsdorff in 1886. This originally stood in the entrance hall of the Altes Museum (in Berlin) and is now in a depot of the state museum.
1744 - 1752 reconstruction of the early Rococo Potsdam City Palace into the second Prussian winter residence (next to Berlin) with its richly furnished interior