Potsdam almost anagrams to “damp spot,” which would accurately describe the drizzly, chilly day we spent visiting this leafy and elegant city twenty miles or so outside Berlin.
We left Wittenburg after breakfast and reached Potsdam a bit over an hour later. Potsdam is famous for two things: Frederick the Great’s summer palace, Sanssouci (taken from the French for “carefree”) and the 1945 Potsdam Conference, where the leaders of the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union met to decide how Germany should be restructured after the war. I’ll take these in reverse order.
The Potsdam Conference began on July 17, 1945 and ended on August 2, four days before the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. It resulted in a redrawing of Germany’s borders, the division of Germany into West (administered by the US, UK, and France) and East (controlled by the USSR), and, thanks to Stalin’s lies and empty promises, assured that Poland would be ruled by a Soviet puppet government.
At the start of the Conference, Churchill was still the UK Prime Minister, but he lost his bid for reelection in late July and was replaced by the new PM, Clement Attlee. Churchill, more so than FDR (who had died three months earlier), Truman, or Attlee, understood the threat Stalin posed. I apologize for the historical disquisition, but to me this was one of the great “what-if” moments of the 20th century: had Churchill remained in power, the future of central Europe, and particularly Poland, might have been different.
Let’s go back a couple of centuries to Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. He was a fascinating figure: a gifted military strategist and battlefield leader, committed patron of the arts, and prolific composer – he wrote 121 flute sonatas, four flute concertos, a symphony, and several marches, and he practiced his flute daily. He also was somewhat tolerant of Catholics and Jews, at least for a Prussian King, and was almost certainly gay. (Somehow, the latter two points did not prevent him from being adored by the Nazis; consequently, after World War II his reputation suffered for several decades.)
Frederick built Sanssouci in the 1740s as an intellectual and artistic retreat where he could be surrounded by nature and live without worry. As royal palaces go, it’s shockingly modest: only eleven rooms on one level, decorated in a rococo style.
Before touring the palace, we drove past several other Prussian buildings in Sanssouci Park, including the New Palace (built in the 1760s) and the Orangery Palace (mid-19th century). Care-free living, alas, is not maintenance-free: the New Palace and adjacent buildings were surrounded by scaffolding.
I found the interior of Sanssouci Palace delightful. There’s an elegant library, a beautiful music room, and several bedrooms for guests.
Paintings by French and Dutch masters line the walls, and in general the décor shows a level of refinement rarely seen in such settings. (I’d venture to say Frederick would be appalled by the obscenely gaudy style favored by a certain would-be American king.)
For the final few days of this trip, we’re staying at the Berlin Marriott. It’s a short walk from the Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, and Reichstag. I’ll have more to say about these spots, and other Berlin highlights, in my final post in a couple of days.
PuffinlessTravel 