Brandenburger Vorstadt - Potsdam West - Wildpark

The Brandenburger Vorstadt suburb begins with the Luisenplatz square at the foot of the Brandenburg Gate (© Barbara Plate)

 

The Speicher — old warehouse — in Potsdam West is a popular place to meet for the young and the young at heart (© Barbara Plate)

 

The Villa Illaire in the Sanssouci park. (© Michael Hübner, Märkische Allgemeine)

The Brandenburger Vorstadt suburb lies before the Brandenburg Gate at the western end of the pedestrian zone in the center of Potsdam. It is located between the Havel river and Sanssouci park, which contains the world-famous palace of the same name, as well as the Neuen Palais palace, the Charlottenhof palace, the Friedenskirche - the Peace church - and other historical structures famous around the world.

The residences in this area were built primarily during the second half of the 19th century and in the years before the First World War. Today, we find an extensively-preserved, enclosed ensemble of historical buildings, which shows itself to be an attractive, almost completely-reconstructed residential quarter with generously proportioned apartments and characteristic front gardens. The Geschwister-Scholl-Straße street, with its row of small shops is particularly inviting to the shopper.

The Potsdam-West residential quarter, which was built during the time of the GDR - former East Germany - is located between the Brandenburger Vorstadt suburb and those residential quarters listed as a heritage site, in the direction heading out of town, which were partly built in a garden-city style in the 1920s and 1930s.

These western suburbs are considered desirable places for residence and recreation due to their proximity to the Havel river and the parks. A riverbank pathway from the historic Moschee (designed in the style of a Mosque from the "1001 Arabian Nights," the structure was built to house a steam driven water pump) goes along the Havel river to the lands of the Luftschiffhafen (former airship station), where the Olympic training center and other sports facilities are located. Behind that, is the site of the modern conference and training center of the Landesbausparkasse - State Construction Savings Bank. The Bayrisches Haus hotel is located right in the midst of the Wildpark forest. At the end of the park towards the Neuen Palais (the New Palace) lies one of the campuses of Potsdam University.