Open-air exhibition 1000 Years and a Quarter-Century
In 2018, the exhibition “1000 Years and a Quarter-Century” presented pictures and stories that looked back at the past 25 years.» more
Portrait | History
Potsdam – a place with more than a 1000-year-old historical past has always been in the public eye of German history. Potsdam was the imperial capital and garrison town of the Prussian kings, as well as a royal, military and administrative city. The tolerance of the Prussians, who liked to welcome foreigners and people of other religions to stimulate the economy of the state, is still reflected today in the cityscape of Potsdam. But Potsdam is also the place where Hitler’s Reichstag held a meeting for the first time in 1933. And in 1945 the Potsdam Agreement sealed the end of the Hitler regime. After the fall of the Berlin Wall the GDR district capital became the capital of the newly founded state of Brandenburg.
993 – From Poztupimi to the royal capital
On July 3, 993 Potsdam was documented for the first time: The thirteen-year-old king of the East-Franconian-German Empire and later emperor Otto III gave his aunt, the abbess Mathilda of Quedlinburg, the place Poztumi.» more
1713 – The Garrison Town
Potsdam’s expansion to a garrison town is due to the Prussian king Frederick William I who went down in the history of Prussia as the Soldier King. He subordinated everything to the development of a strong army» more
1740 – The expansion of the Royal Capital
Frederick II turned Potsdam into a representative royal capital. The creations of his time still define the look and the character of the town.» more
1871 – The boom
The economic boom which began in Germany after the Franco-Prussian War 1870/71 did not bypass Potsdam. From 1860 to 1890 the population increased by a third.» more
1933 – The Day of Potsdam
March 21, 1933 went down in German history as the sinister ‘Day of Potsdam’. After the Reichstag fire in Berlin, Hitler used the opening ceremony of the newly elected Reichstag for a propaganda message.» more
1945 – From the Potsdam Conference to Socialism
On May 8, 1945 the Second World War officially ended, and in July Potsdam was the center of attention of the global public: The Potsdam Conference of the victorious powers of the Anti-Hitler-Coalition took place at Cecilienhof Palace.» more
1989 – A new beginning
The peaceful revolution in the GDR also took hold in Potsdam. The citizens of the ‘City of Industry’ and the ‘Socialist District Capital’ demonstrated in November 1989 for democratic aims.» more