Potsdam Magnificent Buildings & Famous People

What do Steven Spielberg, the Glienicker Bridge, a Russian armed forces radio billeted in old Villas, Paul Schultze-Naumburg (the architect of Cecilienhof Castle), and the abolition of the corset have in common? Exciting stories imbedded in a trip along beautiful old villas await you here.

The castle was built between 1913 and 1917 for the Crown Prince Wilhelm and his consort Cecilie. It became a piece of world history serving as the location for the Potsdam Conference in the year 1945.

Potsdam's “forbidden city” - parts of the Villa Quarter lying within the suburbs of Nauen were occupied between 1945 and 1994 by the Soviet military and expanded to become “Germany's centre of defence against military spies”. The secret service KGB had an important western outpost here for over 40 years.

King Fredrick Wilhelm III had the Russian colony built in 1826 as a monument to the close friendship and attachment between him and the Russian Czar Alexander I.

Pfingstberg is Potsdam's highest elevation at 76m. From here you can enjoy a dreamlike view of the city. Pfingstberg is crowned with Belvedere - King Fredrick Wilhelm IV had it built as a lookout point. The Pomona Temple, which is also found there, was builT in 1801 and serves as the first work of Karl Friedrich Schinkels.

The quarter, build between 1732 and 1742, contains 134 houses and serves as the largest collection of buildings in the Dutch style still standing together in Europe, outside of the Netherlands. 

The Old Market is the heart of Potsdam. From here the city developed outwards in the form we know it during the 17 century. The newly built Brandenburg State Parliament with the historicizing facade of the old city castle, the old town hall, as well as the imposing Nikolai Church come together to make a unique ensemble.

Residence of UFA stars and statesmen Stalin, Churchhill and Truman during the Potsdam Conference in 1945. Prominent architects like Mies van der Rohe and Hermann Muthesius leave their mark on the colony through their buildings.