Potsdam

Potsdam is the capital of the German federal state of Brandenburg . The city has 161 468 inhabitants  (Residents on 31-12-2013)  [2] and is located in the urban area of Berlin ;so you can reach the city by S-Bahn Berlin. Potsdam is on the River Havel . Potsdam is an kreisfreie Stadt .

Content

 * 1 History
 * 2 Sights
 * 3 Born in Potsdam
 * 4 Sports and recreation
 * 5 Twin cities

History [ edit ]
Potsdam was probably founded in the 10th century . For a long time it remained an insignificant village, although in 1345 received city rights. In 1660 the city was the Elector Frederick William chose as his summer residence. He constructed a castle inspired by the castle Honselaarsdijk that he had met during his studies in theNetherlands . Later, the city was also the favorite residence of the royal family of Prussia, the Hohenzollerns . Most members of the Hohenzollern were born here, grew up and stayed most of the time in one of their various palaces in Potsdam.

Between 1734 and 1742 took King Frederick William I, known as the Soldier King, Dutch craftsmen to Potsdam that a district aanlegden there in Dutch style; the district isDutch Quarter (Dutch Quarter) mentioned. Contrary to the wishes of the client, the formation remained a Dutch colony. Hungarian workers often went after vacancy in the houses. The district still exists and is a tourist attraction.

Especially in the time of Frederick the Great, many monumental buildings built, including the palace Sanssouci and the Neues Palais . Although Berlin the capital ofPrussia and later of the German Empire was, the court spent much time in Potsdam. This only changed in 1918, when after the First World War, Emperor Wilhelm II was expelled and Germany became a republic.

Shortly after Hitler came to power in Germany, took place on March 21, 1933 the so-called Day of Potsdam, during which the Nazis wanted to demonstrate the unity between the old Prussia and the new Nazi Germany. The city has in the Second World War bombing suffered badly, especially that of 14 April 1945. After the war took place in the Cecilienhof the Potsdam Conference took place at which the victors ( Truman , Churchill (who was replaced midway through Attlee ) and Stalin ) participated.

After the war the city was divided into East German hands. The GDR wanted as much as possible to remove the memory of the past; Therefore, many historic buildings were demolished. The construction of the Berlin Wall, there was no freedom of movement possible with the neighboring West Berlin .

After German reunification Potsdam became the capital of the new state of Brandenburg . In 1990 were Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin placed on the World Heritage list. There are after the fall of communism developed plans to restore the city to its former glory. It was so Town Schloss (palace) and rebuilt the building permit was issued in 2013 for the reconstruction of the Garnisonkirche . Further excavation of the City Canal was temporarily abandoned.

[Sights edit ]

 * Park Sanssouci with:
 * Sanssouci, the summer residence of Frederick the Great
 * The Orangery Palace, formerly reserved for guests of the royal family
 * Neues Palais (New Palace)
 * Friedenskirche with Mausoleum of several Prussian kings
 * Charlottenhof
 * The Belvédère
 * Neuer Garten, with Marble Palace and Cecilienhof
 * The Russian colony Alexandrowka with the Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church
 * Babelsberg, the summer palace of Emperor Wilhelm I , designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel
 * The city gates Brandenburger Tor (not to be confused with the building of the same name in Berlin), the Nauener Gate and Jägertor
 * The Alter Markt with the St. Nikolai Church, the City Palace, Potsdam (here is the Landtag of Brandenburg in) and the Old Town Hall (where the Potsdam Museum in located)
 * The Dutch Quarter with Dutch gabled houses, built under the Amsterdam based Jan Bouman .
 * Science Park Albert Einstein with Einstein Tower on the Tele Grafenberg
 * Grosses Militärwaisenhaus
 * Pumpenhaus, the pump housing (mosque)
 * St. Peter and Paul Church, located at Dutch Quarter
 * Nauener Gate

[Born in Potsdam edit ]

 * Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767-1835), linguist, philosopher and statesman
 * Frederick William III of Prussia (1770-1840), King of Prussia and composer
 * Frederick III of Germany (1831-1888), Emperor of the German Empire
 * Wilhelm II of Germany (1859-1941), the last emperor of the German Empire
 * Leo Geyr von Schweppenburg (1886-1974), General
 * Hasso von Manteuffel (1897-1978), General at the time of World War II
 * Paul Blobel (1894-1951), architect, SS Standartenführer and member of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD)
 * Oliver Bendt (29 October 1946), musician
 * Matthias Platzeck (December 29, 1953), politician
 * Robert Bartko (23 December 1975), (run) cyclist
 * Sabine Krantz (6 February 1981), athlete
 * Patrick Ebert (17 March 1987), football player
 * Philipp Walsleben (19 November 1987), field driver / cyclist

[Sports and Recreation edit ]
This place is located on the European walking route E11, which runs from The Hague to the east, at the moment the border Poland / Lithuania . Successful woman football first. FFC Turbine Potsdam comes from Potsdam.

Twinned [ edit ]

 * Opole , Poland, since 1973
 * Bobigny , France, since 1974
 * Jyvaskyla , Finland, since 1985
 * Bonn , North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany, since 1988
 * Perugia , Italy, since 1990
 * Sioux Falls , South Dakota , United States, since 1990
 * Lucerne , Switzerland, since 2002