The capital of the state of Brandenburg, Potsdam, borders directly on the southwestern urban area of Berlin. Potsdam is the location of numerous educational and research institutions, which are mainly concentrated on Telegrafenberg and in the Babelsberg district. There are also film and television studios in Babelsberg. Potsdam is an important film and media location. The goal of the many visitors is the Babelsberg film adventure park and the many parks and palaces, especially Sanssouci. Potsdam is integrated into the Berlin S-Bahn network.
The capital of the state of Brandenburg and independent city of Potsdam borders directly on Berlin in the northeast. Potsdam is located on the Havel, which expands into several lakes in the northeast and southwest of the city. In 2010 the city had almost 157,000 residents.
Potsdam is the seat of numerous scientific institutions, which are particularly concentrated in the Science Park on Telegrafenberg and in the Babelsberg district. These include the University and the University of Film and Television. From the abundance of research institutions, the following should be mentioned: the Astrophysical Institute with the Einstein Tower, the Geo Research Center, the German Weather Service, the Institute for Climate Impact Research, two Max Planck Institutes and two Fraunhofer Institutes.
In addition to Munich, Potsdam is an important film and media location. In addition to film and television studios, Potsdam is home to the Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg (ORB). Around 130 companies from the film and television industry as well as telecommunications and advertising have settled on the premises of the media city Babelsberg.
The Babelsberg Film Adventure Park, which offers not only shows but also the opportunity to visit film studios, and the Film Museum attract numerous visitors.
The industry is mainly concentrated in Babelsberg and in the southeast of Potsdam and is represented by the food, building materials, safety glass and organ building industries. There is a good S-Bahn connection to Berlin.
In 2001, Potsdam was the venue for the Federal Garden Show.
History
According to homeagerly, the city of Potsdam developed from an originally Slavic settlement called Poztupimi. In 1660 it became the second residence of the electors after Berlin, and since 1701 of the kings of Prussia. After that, building activity began. Under the kings FRIEDRICH WILHELM I and FRIEDRICH II, THE GREAT, Potsdam was expanded into a garrison town from 1713.
After the Edict of Potsdam of 1685, which granted the Huguenots freedom of belief, many of them settled in Potsdam and sustainably promoted economic development. In 1939, several surrounding communities, including Babelsberg, were incorporated. On August 2nd, 1945 the four allies concluded the Potsdam Agreement in Cecilienhof Palace. 1945 / 46–1952 was and since 1990 Potsdam is the capital of Brandenburg.
Cityscape
The historic city center of Potsdam was badly damaged by bombing in 1945. Numerous buildings fell victim to the reconstruction after the Second World War. Among other things, the Dutch Quarter, the baroque French Church, the classicist former Alte Wache, the neo-Gothic Nauener and the Brandenburg Gate have been preserved.
An architectural curiosity is the Einstein Tower from 1920/21, which can probably be assigned to Expressionism and which is used as a solar observatory. The baroque town hall and the classicist Nikolaikirche with its impressive dome have been restored. The “Potsdam-Center” business and office district at the train station is one of the numerous new buildings.
Carefree Castle
On the outskirts of Potsdam are the Sanssouci Palace and Park (French: “carefree”), which attract numerous tourists every year. The castle was built in a 280 hectare park, which was laid out according to designs by GW VON KNOBELSDORFF. The castle, located above a terrace slope, is a major work of the German Rococo. It was built according to the sketches of FRIEDRICH II, THE GREAT. His grave has been on the garden terrace since 1991. The picture gallery is to the east of the castle and the New Chambers to the west. At the west end of the park, FRIEDRICH THE GREAT had the New Palais built. Further buildings in the park were erected in the 19th century, especially Charlottenhof Palace in the south and the orangery in the north .
At the beginning of the 19th century, the landscape architect PJ LENNÉ combined the various palace and park landscapes, which also include the New Garden, the Marble Palace and Babelsberg Palace, to form the unique Potsdam cultural landscape, which has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. The Belvedere on the Pfingstberg, which has been accessible again since 2001, offers a wonderful view of the ensemble.
