Car sightseeing tour of Potsdam

Potsdam is unique. After all, it is the capital of the summer residences of the Prussian kings, famous all over the world for its magnificent palaces and parks. More than 150 historical monuments and the cultural landscape of Potsdam are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Being in Berlin and not seeing Potsdam is unforgivable for a real tourist.

A car tour will allow you to move around comfortably and see much more than you would have time to walk. You can go out and walk at any time. In addition, the stories of the inhabitants of this city will make our trip unforgettable.

I want to be honest: in order to see Potsdam qualitatively, it takes at least 2 days. But most of my guests have only one day, and some have only 4-5 hours. I always try to do the best I can. On this page, I will tell you about the route for a one-day minimum program.

The tour starts at the door of your hotel. The journey to Potsdam will take about 30 minutes. During this time, you will learn the history of the city and get acquainted with its main characters.

The first stop is at the Old Market Square. Here once stood the old wooden church of St. Nicholas and a small town hall. But in 1662, it was on this square that the Grand Elector Frederick-Wilhelm I built his residence. And the townspeople had to move. On the site of a small wooden church, a magnificent cathedral grew, and on the site of the old town hall - a new one, with a huge gilded atlante on the roof. The Royal Palace was blown up in 1960 by the decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the GDR. However, it has been revived today, and today we will see a restored masterpiece of the XVII century.

We will visit the place where the legendary Garrison Church once stood. Russian tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I, Napoleon, Hitler and Hindenburg came here to venerate the graves of Frederick the Great and his father, the soldier king. I will tell you the legends and traditions associated with this church, and we will listen to the ringing of the bells that survived the bombing of 1945 and the demolition of the church during the GDR.

After that, we will walk through the streets of the old Garrison City. He's unique. Nowhere else in the world were streets built for soldiers. And nowhere else was the city wall, which guarded the city not from the outside, but from the inside - it kept the army of the king-soldier from deserting. We will pass through the Brandenburg Gate, which is older than the Berlin Gate of the same name, and wander through the cozy streets of old Potsdam. You will learn about the life and strange habits of the king-soldier, about his cruel methods of raising sons.

The oldest of them was Frederick the Great. The life of Frederick is surrounded by many myths. But the real events of his life resemble legends and legends. It is to him that we owe the construction of the pearl of world architecture - the palace and park of Sanssouci. My story will lead us to visit this masterpiece. We will explore the famous palace, the tomb of Frederick, a ruined mountain and a fountain - the only failure in the life of a great king. After that, we will go down the magnificent grape terraces, cross the park with its “surprises” – a grotto, a Chinese house, Roman baths, a belvedere, an ancient temple, a temple of friendship and a greenhouse palace. The main alley of the park will lead us to the New Palace - a grandiose structure of the middle of the XVIII century. It amazes with its beauty and its greatness. But it's also full of optical surprises that we're going to see.

After the Sanssouci Park, we will visit the Russian colony “Alexandrivka”, perhaps the most unusual place in Europe. 13 wooden Russian huts with estates are located in the heart of the capital of Prussia (Potsdam was the second capital of the kingdom). How did they get here? You'll find out on the tour.

The next stop is the New Park with its Marble Palace, the Pyramid and the secret pier of Frederick-Wilhelm II, nephew and heir of Frederick the Great. Here we are transported to the XX century, because in this park is located the Cecilienhof Palace - the venue of the Potsdam Conference. It was here that the map of post-war Europe was determined in 1945. It was here that Stalin, Churchill and Truman turned from allies into competitors. Here Truman informed Stalin of the creation of the atomic bomb, here it was decided that Germany would remain united and indivisible (and that was almost immediately violated). Nothing has changed in the building since it was abandoned by the "high-ranking persons" and is now the Potsdam Conference Museum.

The next attraction of the XX century is the “Soviet military town No. 7”, a secret KGB zone, where during the Cold War there was a center for training intelligence officers and a secret KGB prison. The prison is now a museum and can be visited. Another exhibit of the Cold War is the Bridge of Spies. This old bridge once connected Berlin with Potsdam, and royal cavalcades swept over it. After the partition of Germany, the "German-German border" passed in the middle of the river, and the bridge was completely closed for crossing. The only ones who crossed it were exchanging Soviet and U.S. intelligence officers, or American pilot Powers shot down over the territory of the USSR.

If we still have time, we will definitely visit the wonderful Glinicke Park. It was built in the Italian style, while building the palace were used parts of the destroyed ancient monastery, brought from Italy. On the contrary, across the river is Babelsberg Park, built in a completely different style.

But where to go is “Izba Nikolskoe”, another tribute to respect and love for Russia. A real Russian wooden peasant courtyard is located on a cliff above the river, from where a wonderful view of Peacock Island opens.

This will end our first day in Potsdam. I am sure you will be overwhelmed with impressions. Everything else is better left for the second day.

What is it? The Babelsberg Park with the highest tower of Potsdam and the Science Park with the “Einstein Tower”, the district of Czech weavers Novaves with unique houses and the Babelsberg film studio (former DEFA film studio), where we can look at the film sets. Three mansions of the 19th century, which bear the names of their temporary inhabitants - "Villa Churchill", "Villa Stalin" and "Villa Truman". Belvedere on the mountain of the Trinity, Peacock Island with the famous "Palace of the mistress", and much more.

And, among other things, in Potsdam - wonderful little restaurants and shops. Many Berliners come here to spend their free time. Maybe you should take an hour to dine in a small German family restaurant. Or take a look at a little Potsdam fashion boutique? In any case, Potsdam will not leave you indifferent.

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