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Preserved Architectural Remnants and Ruins City Palace, Potsdam, Germany
Since 1751, the Potsdam City Palace was the official winter residence of the Prussian Kings, and, starting in 1871, the German Emperors (Kaiser), making it Potsdam's oldest castle. Unfortunately, there is not much left of it.
City Palace in 1691

Two pictures taken in 1828:
Palace with Pleasure Garden in front
Saint Nicholas Church in the back

Aerial view of the Palace and
St. Nicholas Church in the 1930s

After the bombings of April 1945

Construction Site in 2009

The Palace in 1751

Louise Portal and Inner Court,
seen from Saint Nicholas Church.

Queen Luise's Quarters,
restored in 1938

Remains before demolition in 1959

Model: Rebuilt Palace in 2012

The location has been the site of several fortresses and castles since the times of the Roman Empire. Slavonic tribes that lived in the area until the mid of the 12th century built a fortress here in 993 to guard a nearby river passage.

In 1157, the Ascanians conquered the area and enhanced the fortress. But at the end of the Middle Ages, the fortress decayed until it finally was torn down. It was rebuilt in 1589 but wasn't used much and for a while in the early 17th century, it was even turned into a barn.


In 1660, Frederick William, duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg started a massive reconstruction and eventually moved his entire court into the new building in 1671. The castle got it's final shape by King Frederick II and Architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in 1751 and until the end of the German Empire in 1918, the German Emperors resided here at least for parts of the year.


After 1918, the building was turned into a museum and later also hosted offices of the city administration. During an allied bombing attack on 14th April 1945 the City Palace was burned out and in 1959, the remains were pulled down. Most sources today simply state that Communism and Castles just don't mix and that the East German communist government ordered the destruction of the castle for ideological reasons. We think, the story is a little bit more complex:

Prussia, and especially Potsdam was considered to be the cradle of German Militarism. Dismantling a place that in a sense was the starting point of two World Wars was supposed to send a signal to the world that post-war Germany had honestly broken with its past.

But no matter how we look at it, the crown jewel of Frederician Rococo is lost. Currently, the only remaining original parts are the royal stables, now hosting the Film Museum and one single sculpture group in the former Pleasure Garden.


However, in 2007, city and state decided to rebuild the palace and to make it the furture site of the state's parliament. Currently, downtown Potsdam is a giant construction site and a number of volunteer organizations is working hard to raise the 120 million Euro necessary for the reconstruction.


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