Potsdam Travel Guide
A detailed destination guide for your next Germany vacation
Potsdam Overview
Potsdam has several claims to national and international notability. In Germany, it has the status Windsor has in England. It was the residence of the Prussian kings until 1918. Around the city there are a series of interconnected lakes and unique cultural landscapes, in particular the parks and palaces of Sanssouci, the largest World Heritage Site in Germany. The Potsdam Conference, the major post-war conference between the victorious Allies, was held at another palace in the area, the Cecilienhof. Babelsberg, in Potsdam, is one of the leading centers of European film production. The Filmstudio Babelsberg is historically significant as the oldest large-scale film studio in the world. The Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg frequently records soundtracks for domestic and foreign-based film productions.
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The most popular attraction in Potsdam is Sanssouci Park, 2 km west of the city center. In 1744, King Frederick the Great ordered the construction of a residence here, where he could live sans souci ("without worries", in the French spoken at the court). The park hosts a botanical garden (Botanischer Garten Potsdam) and many magnificent buildings The Orangery Palace (Orangerieschloss), former palace for foreign royal guests The New Palace (Neues Palais), built between 1763 and 1769 to celebrate the end of the Seven Years' War, in which Prussia ousted Austria from its centuries-long role as the dominant power in German affairs. It is a much larger and grander palace than Sanssouci, having over 200 rooms and 400 statues as decoration. It served as a guest house for numerous royal visitors. The Charlottenhof Palace (Schloss Charlottenhof), a Neoclassical palace by Karl Friedrich Schinkel built in 1826 The Roman Baths (Römische Bäder), built by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Ludwig Persius in 1829-1840. It is a complex of buildings including a tea pavilion, a Renaissance-style villa, and a Roman bathhouse The Chinese Tea House, an 18th century pavilion built in a Chinese style, the fashion of the time. The Old Market Square is Potsdam's historical center. For three centuries this was the site of the City Palace, a royal palace built in 1662. Under Frederick the Great, the palace became the winter residence of the Prussian kings. The palace was severely damaged by bombing in 1945 and demolished in 1961 by the Communist authorities. In 2002, the Gate of Fortune was rebuilt in its original historic position, which marks the first step in the reconstruction of the palace. The Old Market Square is dominated today by the dome of the Nicolas Church, built in 1837 in the classical style. It was the last work of Karl Friedrich Schinkel, who designed the building but did not live to see its completion. It was finished by his disciples Friedrich August Stüler and Ludwig Persius. The eastern side of the Market Square is dominated by the Old City Hall, built in 1755 by the Dutch architect Jan Bouman (1706-1776). It has a characteristic circular tower, crowned with a gilded Atlas bearing the world on his shoulders. Potsdam's Brandenburg Gate; north of the Old Market Square is the oval French Church (Französische Kirche), erected in the 1750s by Boumann for the Huguenot community, and the Brandenburg Gate (built in 1770, not to be confused with the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin) Another landmark of Potsdam is the two-street Dutch Quarter (Holländisches Viertel), an ensemble of buildings that is unique in Europe, with about 150 houses built of red bricks in the Dutch style. It was built between 1734 and 1742 under the direction of Jan Bouman to be used by Dutch craftsmen who had been invited to settle here by King Frederick Wilhelm I. Today this area is one of Potsdam's most visited districts. Another interesting area of Potsdam is Babelsberg, a quarter east of the center, housing the UFA film studios (Babelsberg Studios), and an extensive park with some interesting buildings, including the Babelsberg Palace (Schloß Babelsberg, a neo-Gothic palace designed by Schinkel). The Einstein Tower was built between 1920 and 1924 by architect Erich Mendelsohn on the top of the Telegraphenberg. [ source: wikipedia ]
Maps and Driving Directions to Potsdam
Travel Insider Tips for Potsdam
Definitely take yourself and the kids to a Kletterwald!!! Cheaper and more fun than what I have seen in the U.S.
Shared by Sonia Shamash, Feb 2011
[Sanssouci Palace] I was there a long long time ago. It really is lovely!
Shared by Chrissy Bernards Leiberan-Titus, Jan 2010
Potsdamm is beautiful, I was there 4 years ago & I would like to go back soon.
Shared by Peter Voyé, Nov 2010
The Holländisches Viertel (Dutch quarter) (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holl%C3%A4ndisches_Viertel) lies directly in the center of Potsdam and features a unique ensemble of dutch style brick houses. Founded in 1733, it served as a homestead for dutch craftsmen immigrants, who were called by the prussian king to develop this swampy landscape. Today it features lots of small shops, as well as pubs and restaurants. It is conquered best by foot.
Shared by Achim Hänsch, Jan 2010
Eine Rundfahrt durch Potsdam (guided tour) mit einem historisch bewanderten Reiseführer ist übrigens unbedingt empfehlenswert, zu beinahe jeder Strasse lässt sich etwas erzählen.
Shared by Achim Hänsch, Jan 2010
The Potsdam Marmorpalais (marble palace) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marmorpalais) is another awesome example of prussian architecture and was built by Carl Langhans, the builder of the Brandenburg Gate. It is located directly on the shore of lake Heiligen See.
Shared by Achim Hänsch, Jan 2010
[Sanssouci Palace] yes, it's great, and the best: only one of some awesome locations and palaces in Potsdam.
Shared by Achim Hänsch, Jan 2010
Just was there few months ago...with sightseeing tour, boat cruise to see all the castles and of course trhough the garden of Sanssouci...breathtaking !
Shared by Thomas Haselhorst, Nov 2010
Schloss Cecilienhof, where the Potsdam Conference was held in 1945. The Allied powers met there to figure out how to punish the defeated Germans, who agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier on V-E Day (May 8). The goals of the conference also included the establishment of post-war order, peace treaties issues, and countering the effects of war. I've been there. Its a great place to visit. Quite the historical significance.
Shared by Kevin Marcotte, Nov 2010
Sanssouci Palace
[ source: Flickr]
Popular Points of Interest in and near Potsdam
Palaces and Parks of Potsdam UNESCO World Heritage Site
[ source: Wikipedia ]
Related Sites
We collected some useful links related to Potsdam. If you know a few more sites not listed here, or also know some insider tips or point of interests for this destination? Please share and submit your Germany travel tip. If approved it will be shown on this page!
- Homepage of Potsdam: Potsdam (official home page)
- Wikipedia: Potsdam
More about the History of Potsdam
The area around Potsdam shows occupancy since the Bronze Age and was part of Magna Germania as described by Tacitus. After the migrations Slavs moved in and Potsdam was probably founded after the 7th century as a settlement of the Heveller centred on a castle. It was first mentioned in a document in 993AD as Poztupimi, when Emperor Otto III gifted the territory to the Quedlinburg (Quedlinburg vacation rentals | Quedlinburg travel guide) Abbey. By 1317, it was mentioned as a small town. It gained its town charter in 1345. In 1573, it was still a small market town of 2,000 inhabitants. After the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), Potsdam had lost nearly half of its population. Potsdam's fortunes changed dramatically when it was chosen in 1660 as the hunting residence of Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg, the core of the powerful state that later became the Kingdom of Prussia. It also housed a Prussian barracks. After the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Potsdam became a centre of European immigration. Its religious freedom attracted people from France (Huguenots), Russia, the Netherlands and Bohemia. The edict accelerated population growth and economic recovery. Later, the city became a full residence of the Prussian royal family. The majestic buildings of the royal residences were built mainly during the reign of Frederick the Great. One of these is the Sanssouci Palace, famed for its formal gardens and Rococo interiors. Other royal residences include the Neues Palais and the Orangery. In the 19th century the city of Potsdam was the capital of the province of Potsdam. The province encompassed the former districts of Ucker Mark, the Mark of Priegnitz, and the greater part of the Middle Mark. It was situated between Pomerania and West Prussia on the north, and the province of Saxony on the south and west (Berlin, with a small surrounding district, was an enclave within the province of Potsdam, and had its own distinct government). Towards the north west the province was bounded by the River Elbe and the Havel, and on the north east by the River Oder. About 500,000 inhabitance lived in the province which covered an area of about 8,000 square miles, divided into thirteen circles: Prenzlow, Spandau and Ruppin. Potsdam, south west of Berlin (Berlin vacation rentals | Berlin travel guide), lay just outside West Berlin after the construction of the Berlin Wall. The walling off of West Berlin not only isolated Potsdam from West Berlin, but also doubled commuting times to East Berlin. The Glienicke Bridge across the Havel connected the city to West Berlin and was the scene of some Cold War exchanges of spies. After German reunification, Potsdam became the capital of the newly re-established state of Brandenburg. There are many ideas and efforts to reconstruct the original appearance of the city, most remarkably the Potsdam City Palace and the Garrison Church.
[ source: wikipedia ]
What makes this Live Like a German Potsdam Travel Guide special...
This Potsdam travel guide provides you with an overview of Potsdam, Potsdam pictures, and a local travel guide that suggests many special trips, unique activities, and vacation ideas, that you can't find in a typical Germany travel guide.
Some of this information is compiled from popular and well-known sources (e.g., such as Wikipedia, Wikitravel, and great pictures from Flickr). However, what makes this Germany travel guide special is that most of the travel suggestions and insider tips are provided by local residents, property owners, and our readers, who share and submit their travel tips with us. All submissions are then editorially reviewed to ensure high quality. All this information is logically organized within this destination guide to make it easy for you to find things quickly.
In addition, the Potsdam destination guide features restaurant recommendations, restaurant reviews, where to go for grocery shopping, sports activities, getting around, cultural events and highlights, entertainment, and health related information - so you are informed for your travel to Germany, and you can learn about all the cool things you can do during your Germany vacation!
