Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

state of Brandenburg. It is part of the

Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region The Berlin/Brandenburg metropolitan region (german: Metropolregion Berlin-Brandenburg) or capital region (german: Hauptstadtregion Berlin-Brandenburg) is one of eleven metropolitan regions of Germany, consisting of the entire territories of the s ...

. Potsdam sits on the

River Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...

, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of Berlin, and lies embedded in a hilly morainic landscape dotted with many lakes, around 20 of which are located within Potsdam's city limits. It lies some southwest of Berlin's city centre. The name of the city and of many of its boroughs are of Slavic origin. Potsdam was a residence of the Prussian kings and the

German Kaiser The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...

until 1918. Its planning embodied ideas of the Age of Enlightenment: through a careful balance of architecture and landscape, Potsdam was intended as "a picturesque, pastoral dream" which would remind its residents of their relationship with nature and reason. The city, which is over 1000 years old, is widely known for its palaces, its lakes, and its overall historical and cultural significance. Landmarks include the parks and palaces of Sanssouci, Germany's largest World Heritage Site, as well as other palaces such as the Orangery Palace, the New Palace, Cecilienhof Palace, and Charlottenhof Palace. Potsdam was also the location of the significant Potsdam Conference in 1945, the conference where the three heads of government of the USSR, the US, and the UK decided on the division of Germany following its surrender, a conference which defined Germany's history for the following 45 years. Babelsberg, in the south-eastern part of Potsdam, was already by the 1930s the home of a major film production studio and it has enjoyed success as an important center of European film production since the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Filmstudio Babelsberg, founded in 1912, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world. Potsdam developed into a centre of science in Germany in the 19th century. Today, there are three public colleges, the University of Potsdam, and more than 30

research institute A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...

s in the city.

Geography

Templiner See, Vorderkappe und Hermannswerder 1

The area was formed from a series of large

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice shee ...

s left after the last glacial period. Today, only one quarter of the city is built up, the rest remaining as green space. There are about 20 lakes and rivers in and around Potsdam, such as the

Havel The Havel () is a river in northeastern Germany, flowing through the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Brandenburg, Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt. It is a right tributary of the Elbe and long. However, the direct distance from its source to its mo ...

, the Griebnitzsee, Templiner See, Tiefer See, Jungfernsee, Teltowkanal,

Heiliger See Heiliger See (English: Holy Lake) is a lake within the city limits of Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany, located northeast of the city center and bordering the historic park known as the New Garden. Together with the lakes Sacrower See and Groß Gli ...

, and

Sacrower See The Sacrower See () is a German lake in the northern part of Potsdam in the State of Brandenburg. Overview The Sacrower See, with the Groß Glienicker See 0.7 km to the north and the Heiliger See 1.6 km from Potsdam, forms a chain of la ...

. The highest point is the high ''

Kleiner Ravensberg Kleiner Ravensberg is the highest elevation in the municipal area of Potsdam in Brandenburg, Germany with a peak at 114.2 m above sea level. It is located in a woodland called ''Ravensberge''. The hill is part of a push moraine which was formed du ...

''.

Subdivisions

Potsdam is divided into seven historic city ''Stadtteile'' (quarters) and nine new ''Ortsteile'' (suburbs/wards, former separate villages), which joined the city in 2003. The appearance of the city boroughs is quite different. Those in the north and in the centre consist mainly of historical buildings, the south of the city is dominated by larger areas of newer buildings. The city of Potsdam is divided into 32 '' Stadtteile'' (boroughs, both quarters and suburbs/wards together), which are divided further into 84 statistical ''Bezirke'' (districts). Today, one distinguishes between the older parts of the city (areas of the historic city and places suburbanized at the latest in 1939) – these are the city center, the western and northern suburbs, Bornim, Bornstedt, Nedlitz, Potsdam South, Babelsberg, Drewitz, Stern and Kirchsteigfeld – and those communities incorporated after 1990 which have since 2003 become ''Otsteile'' – these are Eiche, Fahrland, Golm, Groß Glienicke, Grube, Marquardt, Neu Fahrland, Satzkorn and Uetz-Paaren. The new ''Ortsteile'' are located mainly in the north of the city. For the history of all incorporations, see the relevant section on incorporation and spin-offs. ''Structure with statistical numbering:'' Potsdam subdivisions

* 1 Potsdam Nord ** 11 Bornim ** 12

Nedlitz Nedlitz is a village and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Zerbst.Bornstedt ** 14 Sacrow ** 15 Eiche ** 16 Grube ** 17 Golm * 2 Nördliche Vorstädte ** 21 Nauener Vorstadt ** 22 Jägervorstadt ** 23 Berliner Vorstadt * 3 Westliche Vorstädte ** 31 Brandenburger Vorstadt ** 32 Potsdam West * 4 Innenstadt ** 41 Historische Innenstadt ** 43 Zentrum Ost und Nuthepark ** 44 Hauptbahnhof und Brauhausberg Nord * 5 Babelsberg ** 51

Klein Glienicke Klein Glienicke (literally ''Little Glienicke'') was an independent village and is now part of Potsdam. It lies on the south-western part of Berlin's Wannsee Hamlet. In the center of the original village is the building Jagdschloss Glienicke. Durin ...

** 52 Babelsberg Nord ** 53 Babelsberg Süd * 6 Potsdam Süd ** 61 Templiner Vorstadt ** 62 Teltower Vorstadt ** 63 Schlaatz ** 64 Waldstadt I und Industriegelände ** 65 Waldstadt II * 7 Potsdam Südost ** 71 Stern ** 72

Drewitz Drewitz is a village and a former municipality in the Jerichower Land district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it is part of the town Möckern Möckern is a town in the Jerichower Land district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It ...

** 73 Kirchsteigfeld * 8 Nördliche Ortsteile ** 81 Uetz-Paaren ** 82 Marquardt ** 83 Satzkorn ** 84 Fahrland ** 85

Neu Fahrland Neu! (; German for "New!"; styled in block capitals) were a West German krautrock band formed in Düsseldorf in 1971 by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother following their departure from Kraftwerk. The group's albums were produced by Conny Plank, w ...

** 86 Groß Glienicke At the end of 2019, a change was made to the administrative structure: * Borough 41 has been renamed: previously ''Nördliche Innenstadt'', now ''Historische Innenstadt''. * Borough 42 ''(Südliche Innenstadt)'' has been divided into two boroughs, 43 ''(Zentrum Ost und Nuthepark)'' and 44 ''(Hauptbahnhof und Brauhausberg Nord)''. The number 42 was thus repealed. * Some very sparsely populated urban boroughs have been disbanded: ** Borough 33 ''(Wildpark)'' was incorporated into borough 32 ''(Potsdam-West)''. ** Borough 66 ''(Industriegelände)'' was incorporated into borough 64 (formerly ''Waldstadt I''). The borough was then renamed ''Waldstadt I und Industriegelände''. ** Borough 67 ''(Forst Potsdam Süd)'' was incorporated into borough 61 ''(Templiner Vorstadt)''.

Climate

Officially the climate is oceanic - more degraded by being far from the coast and to the east ( Köppen: ''Cfb''), but using the 1961-1990 normal and the 0 °C isotherm the city has a humid continental climate (''Dfb''), which also shows a slight influence of the continent different from the climates predominantly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean. Low averages below freezing for almost all winter causing snows that are frequent and winters are cold, but not as stringent as inland locations or with greater influence from the same. Summer is also relatively warm with temperatures between 23 and 24 °C, the heat waves being influenced by the UHI of Potsdam. The average winter high temperature is , with a low of . Snow is common in the winter. Spring and autumn are short. Summers are mild, with a high of and a low of .

Etymology

The name "Potsdam" originally seems to have been '' Poztupimi''. A common theory is that it derives from an old West Slavonic term meaning "beneath the oaks", i.e., the corrupted ''pod dubmi/dubimi'' (''pod'' "beneath", ''dub'' "oak"). However, some question this explanation.August Kopish, "Die Königlichen Schlösser u. Gärten zu Potsdam", Berlin, 1854
p. 18 (Google Books)
/ref>

History

Pre- and early history

The area around Potsdam shows signs of occupancy since the Bronze Age and was part of '' Magna Germania'' as described by Tacitus. After the

great migrations ''Great Migrations'' is a seven-episode nature documentary television miniseries that airs on the National Geographic Channel, featuring the great migrations of animals around the globe. The seven-part show is the largest programming event in t ...

of the Germanic peoples, Slavs moved in and Potsdam was probably founded after the 7th century as a settlement of the

Hevelli The Hevelli or Hevellians/ Navellasîni (sometimes ''Havolane''; german: Heveller or ''Stodoranen''; pl, Hawelanie or ''Stodoranie''; cs, Havolané or ''Stodorané'') were a tribe of the Polabian Slavs, who settled around the middle Havel river ...

tribe centred on a castle. It was first mentioned in a document in 993 as ''Poztupimi'', when Emperor Otto III gifted the territory to the Quedlinburg Abbey, then led by his aunt

Matilda Matilda or Mathilda may refer to: Animals * Matilda (chicken) (1990–2006), World's Oldest Living Chicken record holder * Matilda (horse) (1824–1846), British Thoroughbred racehorse * Matilda, a dog of the professional wrestling tag-team The ...

. 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.

Early modern era

Potsdam lost nearly half of its population due to the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). A continuous

Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

possession since 1415, Potsdam became prominent, when it was chosen in 1660 as the hunting residence of Frederick William I,

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

of Brandenburg, the core of the powerful state that later became the Kingdom of Prussia. It also housed Prussian

barracks Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

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 Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

. The edict accelerated population growth and economic recovery. Later, the city became a full residence of the Prussian royal family. The buildings of the royal residences were built mainly during the reign of Frederick the Great. One of these is the

Sanssouci Palace Sanssouci () is a historical building in Potsdam, near Berlin. Built by Prussian King Frederick the Great as his summer palace, it is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and ...

(French: "without cares", by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, 1744), famed for its formal gardens and Rococo interiors. Other royal residences include the New Palace and the Orangery. In 1815, at the formation of the Province of Brandenburg, Potsdam became the provincial capital until 1918, except for a period between 1827 and 1843 when Berlin was the provincial capital (as it became once again after 1918). The province comprised two governorates named after their capitals Potsdam and

Frankfurt (Oder) Frankfurt (Oder), also known as Frankfurt an der Oder (), is a city in the German state of Brandenburg. It has around 57,000 inhabitants, is one of the easternmost cities in Germany, the fourth-largest city in Brandenburg, and the largest German ...

Governorate of Potsdam

Between 1815 and 1945, the city of Potsdam served as capital of the (german: Regierungsbezirk Potsdam). The '' Regierungsbezirk'' encompassed the former districts of Uckermark, the Mark of Priegnitz, and the greater part of the Middle March. It was situated between Mecklenburg and the Province of Pomerania on the north, and the

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merge ...

on the south and west (Berlin, with a small surrounding district, was an urban governorate and enclave within the governorate of Potsdam between 1815 and 1822, then it merged as urban district into the governorate only to be disentangled again from Potsdam governorate in 1875, becoming a distinct province-like entity on 1 April 1881). Towards the north west the governorate was bounded by the rivers Elbe and the Havel, and on the north east by the

Oder The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows thr ...

. The south eastern boundary was to the neighbouring governorate of Frankfurt (Oder). About 500,000 inhabitants lived in the Potsdam governorate, which covered an area of about , divided into thirteen rural

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

, partially named after their capitals:Thomas Curtis (1839). ''The London encyclopaedia, or, Universal dictionary of science, art, literature, and practical mechanics, by the orig. ed. of the Encyclopaedia metropolitana'' Volume XVIII
p. 11
/ref> The traditional towns in the governorate were small, however, in the course of the industrial labour migration some reached the rank of urban districts. The principal towns were Brandenburg upon Havel, Köpenick, Potsdam, Prenzlau, Spandau and Ruppin. Until 1875 Berlin also was a town within the governorate. After its disentanglement a number of its suburbs outside Berlin's municipal borders grew to towns, many forming urban ''Bezirke'' within the governorate of Potsdam such as Charlottenburg, Lichtenberg, Rixdorf (after 1912 Neukölln), and Schöneberg (all of which, as well as Köpenick and Spandau, incorporated into Greater Berlin in 1920). The urban ''Bezirke'' were (years indicating the elevation to rank of urban ''Bezirk''or affiliation with Potsdam governorate, respectively):

20th century

Berlin was the capital of Prussia and later of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

, but the court remained in Potsdam, where many government officials settled. In 1914, Emperor Wilhelm II signed the Declaration of War in the ''Neues Palais'' (New Palace). The city lost its status as a "second capital" in 1918, when Wilhelm II abdicated and Germany became a

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

at the end of World War I. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, there was a ceremonial handshake between President Paul von Hindenburg and the new

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Adolf Hitler on 21 March 1933 in Potsdam's Garrison Church in what became known as the " Day of Potsdam". This symbolised a coalition of the military ('' Reichswehr'') and Nazism. Potsdam was severely damaged by Allied bombing raids during World War II. The Cecilienhof Palace was the scene of the Potsdam Conference from 17 July to 2 August 1945, at which the victorious

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

leaders

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

and Joseph Stalin met to decide the future of Germany and postwar Europe in general. The conference ended with the

Potsdam Agreement The Potsdam Agreement (german: Potsdamer Abkommen) was the agreement between three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union on 1 August 1945. A product of the Potsdam Conference, it concerned th ...

and the Potsdam Declaration. Glienicker Brücke2

The government of East Germany (formally known as the German Democratic Republic (German: ''Deutsche Demokratische Republik'', DDR)) tried to remove symbols of "Prussian militarism". Many historic buildings, some of them badly damaged in the war, were demolished. When in 1946 the remainder of the Province of Brandenburg west of the Oder-Neiße line was constituted as the state of Brandenburg, Potsdam became its capital. In 1952 the GDR disestablished its states and replaced them by smaller new East German administrative districts known as ''Bezirke''. Potsdam became the capital of the new '' Bezirk Potsdam'' until 1990. Potsdam, south-west of Berlin, lay just outside West Berlin after the construction of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

. The walling off of West Berlin not only isolated Potsdam from West Berlin, but also doubled commuting times to

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

. The Glienicke Bridge across the Havel connected the city to West Berlin and was the scene of some

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

exchanges of spies. After

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

, Potsdam became the capital of the newly re-established state of Brandenburg. Since then there have been many ideas and efforts to reconstruct the original appearance of the city, including the Potsdam City Palace and the Garrison Church.

Demography

Since 2000 Potsdam has been one of the fastest-growing cities in Germany. Bevölkerungsentwicklung Potsdam.pdf, Development of Population since 1875 within the Current Boundaries (Blue Line: Population; Dotted Line: Comparison to Population Development of Brandenburg state; Grey Background: Time of Nazi rule; Red Background: Time of Communist rule) Bevölkerungsprognosen Potsdam.pdf, Recent Population Development and Projections (Population Development before Census 2011 (blue line); Recent Population Development according to the Census in Germany in 2011 (blue bordered line); Official projections for 2005–2030 (yellow line); for 2017–2030 (scarlet line); for 2020–2030 (green line)

International residents

Largest groups of foreign residents:

Governance

City government

Potsdam has had a mayor (''Bürgermeister'') and city council since the 15th century. From 1809 the city council was elected, with a mayor (''Oberbürgermeister'') at its head. During Nazi Germany, the mayor was selected by the NSDAP and the city council was dissolved; it was reconstituted in token form after 1945, but free elections did not take place until after reunification. Today, the city council is the city's central administrative authority. Local elections took place on 26 October 2003 and again in 2008. Between 1990 and 1999, the Chairman of the City Council was known as the "Town President" but today the post is the "Chairman of the City Council". The mayor is elected directly by the population. 2018 Potsdam mayoral election (2nd round)

2018 Potsdam mayoral election (2nd round)

The current mayor is Mike Schubert of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(SPD) since 2018. The most recent mayoral election was held on 23 September 2018, with a runoff held on 14 October, and the results were as follows: ! rowspan=2 colspan=2, Candidate ! rowspan=2, Party ! colspan=2, First round ! colspan=2, Second round , - ! Votes ! % ! Votes ! % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Mike Schubert , align=left,

, 23,872 , 32.2 , 28,803 , 55.3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Martina Trauth , align=left, The Left , 14,161 , 19.1 , 23,283 , 44.7 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Götz Friederich , align=left, Christian Democratic Union , 12,892 , 17.4 , - , , align=left, Lutz Boede , align=left, The Others , 8,449 , 11.4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Dennis Hohloch , align=left,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (german: link=no, Alternative für Deutschland, AfD; ) is a right-wing populist * * * * * * * political party in Germany. AfD is known for its opposition to the European Union, as well as immigration to Germany. I ...

, 8,215 , 11.1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Janny Armbruster , align=left,

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (german: Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, ), often simply referred to as the Greens ( ), is a Green politics, green List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 as the merger of The Greens ...

, 6,586 , 8.9 , - ! colspan=3, Valid votes ! 74,175 ! 99.3 ! 52,086 ! 97.7 , - ! colspan=3, Invalid votes ! 549 ! 0.7 ! 1,251 ! 2.3 , - ! colspan=3, Total ! 74,724 ! 100.0 ! 53,337 ! 100.0 , - ! colspan=3, Electorate/voter turnout ! 140,963 ! 53.0 ! 141,109 ! 37.8 , - , colspan=7, Source: City of Potsdam
1st round
2019 Potsdam City Council election

The city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election was held on 26 May 2019, and the results were as follows: ! colspan=2, Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(SPD) , 49,898 , 19.3 , 4.0 , 11 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(Grüne) , 48,739 , 18.8 , 6.9 , 10 , 3 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, The Left (Die Linke) , 46,761 , 18.1 , 7.2 , 10 , 4 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) , 32,078 , 12.4 , 3.1 , 7 , 2 , - , bgcolor=127070, , align=left, The Others (aNDERE) , 26,754 , 10.3 , 2.6 , 6 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

(AfD) , 24,508 , 9.5 , 5.0 , 5 , 2 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

(FDP) , 12,620 , 4.9 , 2.4 , 3 , 2 , - , , align=left, CitizensAlliance (BB) , 10,124 , 3.9 , 2.2 , 2 , 1 , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Die PARTEI , 3,955 , 1.5 , New , 0 , New , - , bgcolor=, , align=left,

Brandenburg United Civic Movements/Free Voters The Brandenburg United Civic Movements/Free Voters (German: ''Brandenburger Vereinigte Bürgerbewegungen/Freie Wähler''; BVB/Free Voters or BVB/FW) is a political party in Brandenburg in eastern Germany. The party was co-founded in 2008 by Péter ...

(BVB/FW) , 2,985 , 1.2 , 0.3 , 1 , ±0 , - , colspan=7 bgcolor=lightgrey, , - , bgcolor=, , align=left, Independent Charnow , 214 , 0.1 , New , 0 , New , - ! colspan=2, Total ! 258,636 ! 100.0 ! ! ! , - ! colspan=2, Total votes ! 88,055 ! 100.0 ! ! 56 ! ±0 , - ! colspan=2, Electorate/voter turnout ! 141,443 ! 62.3 ! 13.5 ! ! , - , colspan=7, Source
City of Potsdam

Brandenburg state government

The

Landtag Brandenburg The Landtag of Brandenburg is the unicameral legislature of the state of Brandenburg in Germany. Its 88 members of parliament are usually elected every 5 years. It is responsible for deciding on state laws, controlling the state government and ...

, the parliament of the state of Brandenburg is in Potsdam. It has been housed in the Potsdam City Palace since 2014.

Twin towns – sister cities

Potsdam is twinned with: *

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city loc ...

, Poland (1973) * Bobigny, France (1974) * Jyväskylä, Finland (1985) * Bonn, Germany (1988) * Perugia, Italy (1990) *

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...

, United States (1990) *

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...

, Switzerland (2002) * Versailles, France (2016) * Zanzibar City, Tanzania (2017)

Infrastructure

Transport

Rail transport

Potsdam, included in the fare zone "C" (''Tarifbereich C'') of Berlin's public transport area and fare zones A and B of its own public transport area, is served by the S7 '' S-Bahn'' line. The stations served are Griebnitzsee, Babelsberg and the Central Station (''Hauptbahnhof''), the main and long-distance station of the city. Other DB stations in Potsdam are Charlottenhof,

Park Sanssouci Sanssouci Park is a large park surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, built under Frederick the Great in the mid-1700s. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in the stru ...

(including the monumental '' Kaiserbahnhof''), Medienstadt Babelsberg, Rehbrücke, Pirschheide and Marquardt. The city also possesses a 27 km-long tramway network.

Road transport

Potsdam is served by several motorways: the A 10, a beltway better known as ''Berliner Ring'', the A 115 (using part of the AVUS) and is closely linked to the A 2 and A 9. The B 1 and

B 2 B2, B02, B.II, B.2 or B-2 may refer to: Transportation Aircraft * AEG B.II, a German aircraft during World War I * Albatros B.II, a 1914 unarmed German two-seat reconnaissance biplane * Aviatik B.II, a 1915 German reconnaissance aircraft * Bla ...

federal roads cross the city. Potsdam features a network of urban and suburban buses.

Education and research

Potsdam is a university town. The University of Potsdam was founded in 1991 as a university of the State of Brandenburg. Its predecessor was the ''Akademie für Staats- und Rechtswissenschaften der DDR " Walter Ulbricht"'', a college of education founded in 1948 which was one of the GDR's most important colleges. There are about 20,000 students enrolled at the university. Einsteinturm 7443

In 1991 the ''

Fachhochschule Potsdam The ''Fachhochschule Potsdam'' is a University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam, the capital of the German federal state of Brandenburg. It was founded in 1991 and teaching began in the 1991/92 winter semester. History After the state of Branden ...

'' was founded as the second college. It had 3,518 students as of 2017.

Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg The Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg (German: ''Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf'') is the oldest and largest film school in Germany. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, as well as post-graduate studies in all fields o ...

(HFF), founded in 1954 in Babelsberg, is the foremost centre of the German film industry since its birth, with over 600 students. There are also several research foundations, including Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research and Biomedical Engineering, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (''Albert Einstein Institute''), Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, and Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology, the GFZ –

German Research Centre for Geosciences The GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, also known as GFZ Helmholtz Centre Potsdam or just GFZ, is the national research center for Earth Sciences in Germany, located on the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam, in the German federal state of Brand ...

, the Potsdam Astrophysical Institute, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, which employs 340 people in researching climate change. As well as universities, Potsdam is home to reputable

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Montessori Gesamtschule Potsdam Montessori Oberschule Potsdam, located at Schlüterstraße 2 D-14471 in west Potsdam, Germany, is a Montessori school. It is a public school integrated with a two-year high school (''Gymnasium'') that follows the Montessori method, or teachings of ...

, in western Potsdam, attracts 400 students from the Brandenburg and Berlin region.

Culture

Potsdam was historically a centre of European immigration. Its religious tolerance attracted people from France, Russia, the Netherlands and Bohemia. This is still visible in the culture and architecture of the city. The most popular attraction in Potsdam is

Sanssouci Park Sanssouci Park is a large park surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, built under Frederick the Great in the mid-1700s. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in the stru ...

, west of the city centre. 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 (

Botanical Garden, Potsdam The Botanical Garden in Potsdam (german: Botanischer Garten Potsdam or ''Botanischer Garten der Universität Potsdam''), is a botanical garden and arboretum maintained by the University of Potsdam. It has a total area of 8.5 hectares, of which 5 ...

) and many buildings: * The

(''Schloss Sanssouci''), a relatively modest palace of the Prussian royal (and later German imperial) family * 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 held off the combined attacks of Austria and Russia. 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. Today, it houses parts of University of Potsdam. * The Charlottenhof Palace (''Schloss Charlottenhof''), a Neoclassical palace by Karl Friedrich Schinkel built in 1826 * The

Roman Baths In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

(''Römische Bäder''), built by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and

Friedrich Ludwig Persius Friedrich Ludwig Persius (15 February 1803 in Potsdam – 12 July 1845 in Potsdam) was a Prussian architect and a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Persius assisted Schinkel with, among others, the building of the Charlottenhof Castle an ...

in 1829–1840. It is a complex of buildings including a tea pavilion, a Renaissance-style villa, and a Roman bathhouse (from which the whole complex takes its name). * The Chinese Tea House (''Chinesisches Teehaus''), an 18th-century pavilion built in a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

style, the fashion of the time. Three gates from the original city wall remain today. The oldest is the Hunters' Gate (''Jägertor''), built in 1733. The

Nauener Tor Nauener Tor (Nauen Gate) is one of the three preserved gates of Potsdam, Germany. It was built in 1755 and is the first example of the influence of English Gothic Revival architecture in Continental Europe. History The first Nauener Tor was buil ...

was built in 1755 and close to the historic Dutch Quarter. The ornate

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...

(built in 1770, not to be confused with the

in Berlin) is situated on the Luisenplatz at the western entrance to the old town. Nikolaikirche mit Tympanon

The Old Market Square (''Alter Markt'') is Potsdam's historical city centre. For three centuries this was the site of the

City Palace City Palace may refer to: * City Palace, Berlin, Germany * City Palace, Brunswick, Germany * City Palace, Potsdam, Germany * Wiesbaden City Palace, Germany * Schloss Weimar, Germany * City Palace, Jaipur, India * City Palace, Udaipur, India * Myso ...

(''Stadtschloß''), 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 Allied bombing in 1945 and demolished in 1961 by the

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

authorities. In 2002 the Fortuna Gate (''Fortunaportal'') was rebuilt in its original historic position which was followed by a complete reconstruction of the palace as the Brandenburg Landtag building inaugurated in 2014. Nearby the square in the Humboldtstraße block, which also was demolished after getting damaged in 1945, reconstructions of several representative residential palaces including Palazzo Pompei and Palazzo Barberini housing an arts museum were completed in 2016–2017 alongside buildings with modernized facades to restore the historical proportions of the block. Potsdam Brandenburger Str

The Old Market Square is dominated today by the dome of St. Nicholas' Church, built in 1837 in the Neoclassical 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 - Brandenburger Tor - Feldseite - 2013

Potsdam - Brandenburger Tor - Feldseite - 2013

North of the Old Market Square is the oval French Church (''Französische Kirche''), erected in the 1750s by Boumann for the Huguenot community. To the south lies the

Museum Barberini The Museum Barberini is an art museum in Potsdam opened in 2017. Its exhibitions range from the so-called Old Masters to contemporary art, with an emphasis on impressionist painting. Centered around works from the collection of its founder and p ...

, a copy of the previous building, the Barberini Palace. The museum was funded by the German billionaire Hasso Plattner. The former

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

building was built by

Carl von Gontard Carl Philipp Christian von Gontard (13 January 1731 in Mannheim – 23 September 1791 in Breslau) was a German architect who worked primarily in Berlin, Potsdam, and Bayreuth in the style of late Baroque Classicism. Next to Knobelsdorff he was c ...

in 1771–1772, inspired by the Renaissance palace Palazzo Barberini in Rome. The newly built museum was scheduled to open in spring 2017. 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 artisans and craftsmen who had been invited to settle here by King Frederick Wilhelm I. Today, this area is one of Potsdam's most visited quarters. North of the city centre is the Russian colony of Alexandrowka, a small enclave of Russian architecture (including an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

chapel) built in 1825 for a group of Russian immigrants. Since 1999, the colony has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin. East of the Alexandrowka colony is a large park, the New Garden (''Neuer Garten''), which was laid out from 1786 in the English style. The site contains two palaces; one of them, the Cecilienhof, was where the Potsdam Conference was held in July and August 1945. The '' Marmorpalais'' (Marble Palace) was built in 1789 in Neoclassical style. Nearby is the ''

Biosphäre Potsdam The Biosphäre Potsdam (7,000 m²) is an indoor tropical botanical garden located in the Volkspark Potsdam, a park between the Sanssouci Park and the Neuer Garten Potsdam (New Garden) at Georg-Hermann-Allee 99, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany. It is ...

'', a tropical botanical garden. Babelsberg, a quarter south-east of the centre, houses the UFA film studios ( Babelsberg Studios), and an extensive

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

with some historical buildings, including the Babelsberg Palace (Schloß Babelsberg, a

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

palace designed by Schinkel). The

Einstein Tower The Einstein Tower (German: ''Einsteinturm'') is an astrophysical observatory in the Albert Einstein Science Park in Potsdam, Germany built by architect Erich Mendelsohn. It was built on the summit of the Potsdam '' Telegraphenberg'' to house ...

is located within the

Albert Einstein Science Park The Albert Einstein Science Park is located on the Telegrafenberg hill in Potsdam, Germany. The park was named after the physicist Albert Einstein. The best known buildings in the park are the Einstein Tower, an astrophysical observatory that was b ...

, which is on the top of the ''Telegraphenberg'' within an astronomy compound. Potsdam also features a memorial centre in the former KGB prison in Leistikowstraße. In the Volkspark to the north, there is one of the last monuments dedicated to Lenin in Germany. Potsdam joined UNESCO's Network of Creative Cities as a Design City on October 31, 2019 on the occasion of World Cities’ Day.

Parks

There are many parks in Potsdam, most of them UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Among their attractions are: 2010 Park Sanssouci - Potsdam.jpg, The Chinese House in

Hunting Lodge Glienicke 2.jpg, Glienicke Hunting Lodge, as seen from

Babelsberg Park Babelsberg Park (german: Park Babelsberg) is a 114 hectare park in the northeast of the city of Potsdam, bordering on the ''Tiefen See'' lake on the River Havel. The park was first designed by the landscape artist Peter Joseph Lenné and, af ...

2020-09-23 Potsdam 1DX 1634 by Stepro.jpg, The Marmorpalais in New Garden Orangerie Schloss Spielstätte.JPG, Sanssouci: the Orangery Palace Potsdam BelvedereKlausberg1.jpg, The

Belvedere auf dem Klausberg The Belvedere auf dem Klausberg is a building in Sanssouci Park in Potsdam, Germany erected in 1770–72 using Georg Christian Unger's plans. Architecture Georg Christian Unger based his plans on a drawing by the Italian archeologist Francesco Bi ...

Schloss Babelsberg 3.jpg, Babelsberg Palace

Sports

1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 1. Frauenfußballclub Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V., commonly known as 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam (or Turbine Potsdam outside of Germany), is a German women's football club located in Potsdam, Brandenburg. They are one of the most successful women's footb ...

, one of the most successful German female football clubs (

Bundesliga (women) The Frauen-Bundesliga (German for ''Women's Federal League''), currently known as the FLYERALARM Frauen-Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of league competition for women's association football in Germany. In 1990 the German Foo ...

)
Potsdam Royals
American football team competing in the German Football League. * SV Babelsberg 03, football club Regionalliga Nordost * *

USV Potsdam The USV Potsdam Rugby is a German rugby union club from Potsdam, currently playing in the Rugby-Bundesliga. It is part of a larger multi-sport club, the USV Potsdam, which also offers other sports like basketball, association football and tennis ...

, rugby union (

2nd Rugby-Bundesliga The 2. Rugby-Bundesliga is the second-highest level of Germany's Rugby union league system, organised by the German Rugby Federation. Its set below the Rugby-Bundesliga, the top-tier of German rugby, and above the Rugby-Regionalliga, the third tie ...

) and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

(

Kreisklasse The Kreisliga ( en, District League), along with the ''Kreisoberliga'' ( en, District Premier League) and the ''Kreisklasse'' ( en, District Class), are the lowest set of divisions in the German football league system, set at step 8 and below. S ...

) *

List of football clubs in Potsdam {{Short description, none There are a number of football clubs based in Potsdam, the capital of Brandenburg in Germany, but the most successful team is the women's football club 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam. The following teams are ranked according to ...

* The (''Potsdam Palace Marathon'') is a

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

in that is held annually in June. Thousands of runners run the course past the palaces for the half marathon and several hundred repeat the course to complete the full marathon.

Notable people

;18th century Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck LM FWzeK

Abraham Abramson Abraham Abramson (1752 or 1754 – 28 July 1811) was a Prussian coiner and medallist. Born into a Jewish family, he later converted to Protestantism. Life Son of the coiner Jacob Abraham, like him Abramson belonged to the court of Frederick th ...

(1754–1811), medalist *

Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg Johann David Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg (born von Yorck; 26 September 1759 – 4 October 1830) was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' instrumental in the switching of the Kingdom of Prussia from a French alliance to a Russian allianc ...

(1759–1830), Prussian field marshal * Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835), scholar and statesman, founder of the Berlin Humboldt University *

Frederick William III of Prussia Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, wh ...

(1770–1840), King of Prussia 1797–1840 *

Wilhelm Ludwig Viktor Henckel von Donnersmarck Lieutenant-General Wilhelm Ludwig Viktor, Graf Henckel von Donnersmarck (30 October 1775 in Potsdam – 24 June 1849 in Dessau) was a Prussian officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Biography Donnersmarck was born in 1775 in Königsberg. He s ...

(1775–1849), Prussian general lieutenant *

Eleonore Prochaska Marie Christiane Eleonore Prochaska (11 March 1785, in Potsdam – 5 October 1813, in Dannenberg) was a German female soldier who fought in the Prussian army against Napoleon during the War of the Sixth Coalition. Life Prochaska's father was a no ...

(1785–1813), woman soldier during the

liberation war Wars of national liberation or national liberation revolutions are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) to establish separat ...

, unrecognized as a man disguised as a drummer, later as an infantryman in the Prussian army against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

* Friedrich Wilhelm von Rauch (1790–1850), lieutenant general in the Prussian Army *

Heinrich Wilhelm Krausnick Heinrich Wilhelm Krausnick (1797 – 1882) was a German lawyer and Lord Mayor of Berlin in two terms from 1834 until 1848, and again in 1850 until 1862. Krausnickstraße (Krausnick Street) and Krausnick Park in Mitte, Berlin are named in his hon ...

(1797–1882), lawyer and Lord Mayor of Berlin ;19th century Kaiser Friedrich III Porträt

Moritz Hermann von Jacobi Moritz Hermann or Boris Semyonovich (von) Jacobi (russian: Борис Семёнович Якоби; 21 September 1801, Potsdam – 10 March 1874, Saint Petersburg) was a Prussian and Russian Imperial engineer and physicist of Jewish descent. Jac ...

(1801–1874), physicist and engineer * Ludwig Persius (1803–1845), architect * Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi (1804–1851), mathematician * Adolf von Rauch (1805–1877), Prussian cavalry officer *

Philipp Galen Ernst Philipp Karl Lange (21 December 181320 February 1899) was a German novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Philipp Galen. Biography He was born at Potsdam, studied medicine at Berlin (1835–1840), and on taking his degree, in 1840, entered ...

(1813–1899), writer and physician * Julius Lange (1815–1905), numismatist * Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894), physiologist and physicist, one of the most important natural scientists of his time *

Alfred Bonaventura von Rauch Alfred Bonaventura von Rauch (1 April 1824, Potsdam - 25 September 1900, Berlin) was a general of the cavalry in the Prussian Army and an amateur jockey. He was born in Potsdam and died in Berlin. Born into an aristocratic Prussian family with a ...

(1824–1900), Prussian general * Friedrich Wilhelm von Rauch (1827–1907), Prussian general leutnant *

Egmont von Rauch Egmont Roderich Carl von Rauch (8 January 1829 in Potsdam – 26 August 1875 in Oranienburg) was a cavalry officer and later colonel in the Prussian Army. He also founded the (Saxon-Thuringian Horse and Horse Breeding Association) and the horse rac ...

(1829–1875), Prussian cavalry officer and later colonel in the Prussian Army *

Frederick III, German Emperor Frederick III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl; 18 October 1831 – 15 June 1888), or Friedrich III, was German Emperor and King of Prussia for 99 days between March and June 1888, during the Year of the Three Emperors. Known informa ...

(1831–1888), Emperor of the German Empire and King of Prussia 1888 * Alfred von Waldersee (1832–1904), field marshal *

Ernst Haeckel Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (; 16 February 1834 – 9 August 1919) was a German zoologist, naturalist, eugenicist, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist and artist. He discovered, described and named thousands of new sp ...

(1834–1919), zoologist, philosopher *

Gottlieb Graf von Haeseler Gottlieb Ferdinand Albert Alexis Graf von Haeseler (January 19, 1836 – October 25, 1919) was a German military officer of the Imperial Wilhelmine period, with final rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall''. Biography Haeseler was born in Potsdam to ...

(1836–1919), Prussian field marshal * Hermann Schubert (1848–1911), mathematician * Wilhelm II, German Emperor (1859–1941), Emperor of the German Empire and King of Prussia 1888–1918 *

Friedrich Adolf Steinhausen Friedrich Adolf Steinhausen (13 July 1859 − 23 July 1910) was a German doctor who was intensively involved with the physical conditions of making music. Life Born in Potsdam,Steinhausen studied medicine in Berlin and became chief physician and ...

(1859−1910), doctor and physiologist * Friedrich Wilhelm von Rauch (1868–1899), Prussian officer * Friedrich Ludwig (1872–1930), music historian and rector of the University of Göttingen * Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1976-143-21, Hasso von Manteuffel

Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1976-143-21, Hasso von Manteuffel

Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing (22 April 1873, Potsdam – 12 January 1956, Oberaudorf am Inn) was a German Egyptologist. He was the son of Prussian general Moritz Ferdinand von Bissing (1844–1917). He studied classical philology, archaeology, ...

(1873–1956), egyptologist *

Elisabeth von Knobelsdorff Elisabeth von Knobelsdorff (17 June 1877 Potsdam – 20 April 1959 Bassum) was a German engineer, and architect. Early life Her parents were the Major General Heinrich Wilhelm Kurt von Knobelsdorff (born 13 April 1850) and Marie Elizabeth Fan ...

(1877–1959), engineer and architect * Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia (1883–1942), second son of King William II of Prussia * Ludowika Jakobsson (1884–1968), German-Finnish figure skater * Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg (1886–1974), general of tank troops and military attachée * Hans-Karl Freiherr von Esebeck (1892-1955), general *

Paul Blobel Paul Blobel (13 August 1894 – 7 June 1951) was a German ''Sicherheitsdienst'' (SD) commander and convicted war criminal who played a leading role in the Holocaust. He organised and executed the Babi Yar massacre, the largest massacre of th ...

(1894–1951), Nazi war criminal, hanged for war crimes * Hasso von Manteuffel (1897-1978) General in the Wehrmacht, and later spokesman for defense of the

in the Bundestag ;20th century * Margarete Buber-Neumann (1901–1989), writer * Egon Eiermann (1904–1970), architect * Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1907–1994), German and Prussian heir to the throne and head of the House of Hohenzollern * Marie Eleonore of Albania (1909–1957), princess * Adam von Trott zu Solz (1909–1944), lawyer, diplomat and resistance fighter * Carol Victor (1913–1973), Hereditary Prince of Albania * Peter Weiss (1916–1982), writer, graphic artist and painter * Hans Richter (1919–2008), actor * Bernhard Hassenstein (1922–2016), biologist and behaviorist *

Burkhard Heim Burkhard Heim (; 9 February 1925 – 14 January 2001) was a German theoretical physicist. He devoted a large portion of his life to the pursuit of his unified field theory, Heim theory. One of his childhood ambitions was to develop a method of s ...

(1925–2001), theoretical physicist *

Günther Schramm Günther Schramm (born 18 February 1929) is a German film and television actor. In 1958 he married the actress Gudrun Thielemann. Selected filmography * '' The Ambassador'' (1960) * ''The Happy Years of the Thorwalds'' (1962) * ''Snow White an ...

(born 1929), actor *

Hilla Becher Hilla Becher (; 2 September 1934 – 10 October 2015) was a German conceptual photographer. Becher was well known for her industrial photographs, or typologies, with longtime collaborator and husband, Bernd Becher. Her career spanned more than ...

(1934–2015), photographer *

Nicole Heesters Nicole Heesters (born 14 February 1937) is a German actress. She was born in Potsdam and comes from a family of actors; her parents are Johannes Heesters, a Dutch-German actor, and Louise Ghijs, a Belgian stage actress. Her husband was film ...

(born 1937), actress *

Manfred Wolke Manfred Wolke (born 14 January 1943 in Babelsberg, Brandenburg) is a German former welterweight boxer. He was a member of the ''Armeesportsklub Vorwärts Frankfurt an der Oder''. Wolke, representing East Germany, was the Welterweight ...

(born 1943), boxer and boxing coach *

Klaus Katzur Klaus Katzur (26 August 1943 – 4 September 2016) was a German Swimming (sport), swimmer who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics, 1964, 1968 Summer Olympics, 1968, and 1972 Summer Olympics. In 1972, he won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 metre ...

(1943–2016), swimmer and Olympic medalist * Wolfgang Joop (born 1944), fashion designer *

Oliver Bendt Oliver Bendt (born Jörg Knoch on 29 October 1946 in Potsdam) is a German singer and actor. Knoch grew up the son of an actress in Munich, where he played children's roles in several films, including '' Königswalzer'' (1955) and ''Weil du ar ...

(born 1946), actor, gymnast, singer *

Christiane Lanzke Christiane Lanzke (15 March 1947 – 2005) was a German diver and actress. She competed in the 10 m platform and 3 m springboard at the 1964 Summer Olympics and finished in fifth and tenth place, respectively. She won a silver medal in the ...

(born 1947), diver and actress *

Lothar Doering Lothar Doering (born 23 October 1950 in Potsdam) is a former East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 ...

(born 1950), handball player and coach *

Brigitte Ahrenholz Brigitte Irene Ahrenholz (8 August 1952 – March or April 2018) was a German Rowing (sport), rower who competed for East Germany in the 1976 Summer Olympics. She was born in Potsdam. In 1976 she was a crew member of the East German boat that w ...

(born 1952), rower *

Matthias Platzeck Matthias Platzeck (born 29 December 1953) is a German politician. He was Minister President of Brandenburg from 2002 to 2013 and party chairman of the SPD from November 2005 to April 2006. On 29 July 2013 Platzeck announced his resignation fro ...

(born 1953), politician, Minister President of Brandenburg *

Klaus Thiele Klaus Thiele (born 21 January 1958 in Potsdam) was an East German athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. He competed for East Germany in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow, Soviet Union in the 4 × 400 metres relay where he w ...

(born 1958), athlete * Gabriele Berg (born 1963), biologist and biotechnologist * Ralf Brudel (born 1963), rower *

Jens-Peter Berndt Jens-Peter Berndt (born 17 August 1963) is a retired German swimmer. He who won three silver medals in medley event at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships and 1983 European Aquatics Championships. In May 1984 he set a world record in the 4 ...

(born 1963), swimmer *

Birgit Peter Birgit Peter (born 27 January 1964) is a German rower, and double Olympic gold medalist. Life and career Peter was born in Potsdam, East Germany. She competed for the SG Dynamo Potsdam / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo, and she won medals at vario ...

(born 1964), rower *

Carsten Wolf Carsten Wolf (born 26 August 1964) is an East German racing cyclist, who competed for the SC Dynamo Berlin / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo The Sportvereinigung Dynamo () (''Dynamo Sports Association'') was the sport association of the securit ...

(born 1964), cyclist, world champion *

Daniela Neunast Daniela Neunast (born 19 September 1966) is a retired German coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since ...

(born 1966), steward in rowing *

René Monse René Monse (28 September 1968 in Potsdam – 8 June 2017) was a German heavyweight boxer best known for having won a bronze medal at the world championships in 1995. Monse died in 2017 after what his former promoter described as a lengthy illn ...

(born 1968), heavyweight boxer * Klara Geywitz (born 1976), politician *

Aleksandr Sayenko Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Sayenko (russian: Александр Александрович Саенко; born 5 March 1978 in Potsdam) is a former Russian association football, football player. External links

* 1978 births Sportspeople fro ...

(born 1978), footballer ;20th century *

Ermyas Mulugeta The assault of Ermyas Mulugeta happened late on Easter Sunday 2006, at a tram stop in Potsdam, Germany. Two men beat him so badly he was put into a coma for two weeks and since there appeared to be a racial motive to the attack, the case was taken u ...

, assaulted in a nationally significant case

Honorary citizens

* 1845:

, Lieutenant General * 1856:

Friedrich von Wrangel Friedrich Heinrich Ernst Graf von Wrangel (13 April 1784 – 2 November 1877) was a ''Generalfeldmarschall'' of the Prussian Army. A Baltic German, he was nicknamed "Papa Wrangel" and was a member of the Baltic noble family of Wrangel. E ...

, Field Marshal * 1863: Peter Joseph Lenné, gardener and landscape architect * 1891: Hermann von Helmholtz, naturalist * 1905: Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, president of the province of Brandenburg * 1933: Paul von Hindenburg, Fieldmarshal and Reichspräsident * 1933: '' Adolf Hitler'', chancellor (withdrawn 15 August 1990 by decision of the Potsdam City Council) * 1938: Josef Goebbels, Minister of Propaganda * 1955:

Max Volmer Max Volmer (; 3 May 1885 – 3 June 1965) was a German physical chemist, who made important contributions in electrochemistry, in particular on electrode kinetics. He co-developed the Butler–Volmer equation. Volmer held the chair and director ...

, physical chemist * 1960: Hans Marchwitza, writer and proletarian poet * 1965: Otto Nagel, painter

References

Sources

* Paul Sigel, Silke Dähmlow, Frank Seehausen und Lucas Elmenhorst, Architekturführer Potsdam Architectural Guide, Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 2006, .

External links

* an
English
{{Authority control Cities in Brandenburg German state capitals Populated places established in the 7th century 7th-century establishments in Germany