Welcome to Potsdam! City of sans, souci.

“This entire Eyland has to become a paradise,” wrote John Maurice of Nassau to his friend Frederick William, The Great Elector, back in the 17th century. A small city, not far from Berlin, surrounded by a lake-dotted landscape was the perfect place for a second residence of the royals of Brandenburg-Prussia. This is how Potsdam, with its palaces and gardens like Versailles and St. Petersburg, came into being purely from an idea. Prussian rulers worked on their earthly paradise for two centuries, reinterpreting the styles of Ancient Greece and Rome, the Rococo and the Tudor era. The jewel in the Prussian paradise is without doubt the summer residence of Frederick the Great. The King of Prussia, wanting to escape bustling Berlin, found his sanctuary there. He gave his summer residence the name Sanssouci – the French sans souci means “without worries”. Today the yellow rococo palace overlooks the lavish terraced landscape. The palaces and gardens of Potsdam represent the perfect union of art and nature and have been part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. The site encompasses 2,064 hectares of Potsdam’s cultural landscape, representing worldly influences from Italy, France, Russia and the Netherlands. Cultural diversity is a part of Potsdam’s identity. Having a Dutch Pannecoeken in the Dutch Quarter, wandering along green alleys between fairytale wooden houses of the Russian Colony Alexandrovka, or walking the Italian piazza-like Old Market. A city stroll through Potsdam is like a walk through a timeline of European history. Moviemakers also find their inspiration in street facades, and over a hundred years of movie history. Films like The Monuments Men, Inglourious Basterds were shot here together alongside series like Homeland. Potsdam is a European cradle for movies and Germany’s first and only “UNESCO Creative City of Film“. Along the perfect movie settings, Potsdam offers outstanding material for movie scripts. One great example is the spy exchange that took place during the Cold War on Glienicke Bridge. Marking the border between Potsdam and West Berlin, the bridge was the perfect spot to exchange captured spies from East and West. This story brought Steven Spielberg to Potsdam to shoot the movie Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks. So, what are you waiting for?! Be a part of Potsdam’s living history. Learn more – you’ll find more tips on what to see and do in Potsdam here: www.potsdam-tourism.com or listen https://www.potsdam-tourism.com/en/why-to-visit/podcast. Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin-Brandenburg: www.spsg.de/en. To open the treasures of Potsdam’s palaces visit our ticket shop: tickets.spsg.de/