GERMANY – Brandenburg (Potsdam, Cottbus)

Germany – Brandenburg (Potsdam, Cottbus) August 31, September 3, 2019

Caputh. In the NM “Villages and Small Towns” series, it gained a railway station in 1904 and has since become a remote residential area for wealthy urban people. Sights consist of Caputh Palace (1662, the hall has 7,500 pieces of delftware), Caputh Village Church (1852), Summer house of Albert Einstein (1929, a non swimmer, he was a passionate recreational sailor on the lake, used only until the Nazi takeover of 1933, now owned by Hebrew University in Jerusalem, only preserved residence of Einstein in Germany, museum with documents, photos and models.

POTSDAM
Einstein Tower. In the NM “Modern Architecture Buildings”, this is a solar observatory built between 1921 and 1924 to test or disprove Einstein’s theory of relativity. Einstein never worked there but supported it. Light from the six telescopes is directed downward to the basement, where the laboratory is located. Damaged in WW II, it was renovated in 1999. It is yellow, oval, six stories high, and has odd, curved window arches and a curved entrance staircase. Einstein described it as “organic”. There is a bust of Einstein at the base of the tower. There is a tiny bronze brain cemented into the cobbles outside the tower.

It is not open to the public except on some Saturdays in the winter by special arrangement (contact Urania Potsdam).
It is located in the gated Einstein Science Park, a research park (one of the tenants is the Liebeniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam) where there are also at least three other planetariums. Several of the buildings are modern, but many are older, attractive, yellow brick with red brick accents and decorative tiles. Park outside the gate and walk approximately ½ km to the tower, following the signs to Einsteinturm. The only sign in the park in English was the small notice on the front door of the Einstein Tower announcing the visitation possibilities.

Barberini Museum. The main art museum in Potsdam has 56 16th – 17th century Italian paintings (entitled “Baroque Pathways: the National Galleries Barberini Corsini in Rome”), including one Caravaggio. The Palazzo Barberini served as the model for the Palace of Barberini that Frederick the Great built in 1771-72 in Potsdam. Destroyed during the war, it was rebuilt as a modern museum between 2013 and 2016.
There was also an exhibit on painters from the GDR. I especially enjoyed Gudrun Brune and Johannes Heisig. €14, no reduction
Film Museum. Showcases the world’s oldest film studio, Studio Babelsberg, which has been producing film since 1912-1945 (produced propaganda films for the Nazis). There are several cabinets containing the artist’s endowments, photos, set designs, and the media history of Babelsburg. I did not find this particularly interesting, as I was unfamiliar with the actors, directors, or films. There is a cinema that shows films most days of the week. It is housed in 18^th-century stables. €5, no reduction
FLUXUS+. Fluxus is an international art movement founded by George Maciunas (1931-1978) that began around 1960 in New York, Tokyo, and several European cities simultaneously, initially as a magazine and later through concerts, festivals, and contemporary art. The prime artist exhibited was Wolf Vostell (whom I didn’t like, but he had some interesting bronze sculptures juxtaposing odd elements with musical instruments. Note hours: Wed-Sun, 1-6 pm. €7.50, no reduction, but free when I visited, as a one-day festival was happening in the park outside.

PALACES and PARKS of POTSDAM and BERLIN. These combine to make one World Heritage Site (1990). They represent a unity of landscape with monarchal ideas of the Prussian state and common efforts of emancipation spanning the years 1730-1916. Initially, there were 150 buildings; several were destroyed by the Berlin Wall’s death strip fortifications, but the complex was extended in 1992 and 1999.
1990: Palace and Park of Sanssouci, Potsdam; New Garden, Marble Pavilion and Schloss Cecilienhof, Potsdam; Park Bebelsberg and Schloss Bebelsberg, Potsdam; Schloss Glienicke and Park Klein-Glienicke, Berlin; Peacock Island, Berlin; Mount Bottcher, Berlin; Glienicke hunting lodge, Berlin.
1992 extension: Church of the Redeemer, Potsdam; Palace and Park of Sacrow, Potsdam.
1999 extension: Lindenallen, Potsdam; Königliche Gärtnerlehhranstalt and the Kaiserbahnhof, Potsdam; Village of Bornstedt, church, cemetery, and landscape north of Park Sanssouci and New Garden, Potsdam; Entrance area of Park Sanssouci, Potsdam; Alexandrowka log houses, Potsdam; Phingstberg and Belvedere auf dem Pfingstberg, Potsdam; Southern shore of Jungfernsee, Potsdam; Königswald (King’s Forest, forests surrounding Palace and Park of Sacrow, Potsdam; Approaches to Babelsberg Park, Potsdam; Observatory in Babelsberg, Potsdam.
SANSSOUCI PARK
Sanssouci Palace. The summer home of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, was built from 1745 to 47. It is a little more than a large, single-story villa with only 10 principal rooms. It was neglected until 1840, when it was the residence of Frederick IV, who changed it into a fashionable country house and added modern (for the 19^th century) kitchens and service rooms. Fronted by a double colonnade, it is a Rococo-style building (Baroque with grace and lightness), featuring a single-story block with two service wings.
After WW II, it became a tourist attraction, and Frederick’s body was returned to a new tomb in 1990. €12, no reduction

Historic Mill at Sanssouci Park. First built in 1738, it was severely damaged and rebuilt in 1858. With a stone base and a Dutch cap, the top is shaken above the large balcony. Rarely does this mill still operate, producing its flour and semolina. The vanes were turning when I was there; the inside gears were all turning, but the grindstone was not engaged. €4
Potsdam Botanical Gardens. On both sides of the road, the south side is centred around 10 connected greenhouses (€2). Great cacti and ferns, but the rest is not so interesting. The large mature forest of the park surrounds the gardens. Free
New Palace. Built by King Frederick III from 1763 to 1969, to celebrate the victory in the Seven Years’ War, it is considered the last grand Prussian Baroque palace. It was not his residence, but a display for visiting royals and dignitaries, featuring over 200 rooms, four gathering rooms, and a theatre. An enormous dome was constructed over the center, and 400 statues were added. The interior is over-the-top, featuring ornate marble floors, painted and gilt ceilings, cut crystal chandeliers, sculptures, and enormous paintings.
After he died in 1786, it fell into disuse until 1859, when Frederick III used it as a summer residence and then for the 99 days of his reign. His son, William II, renovated it with steam heating and electricity and used it as his principal residence until 1918, when he abdicated and went into exile in the Netherlands. He also relocated the furnishings, which were discovered in their original packing cases in 1970 and subsequently returned to Germany. The palace escaped damage during World War II, so it now retains its appearance much as it did in 1918.
On the west edge of Sanssouci Park, the palace is fronted by a massive semicircular colonnade, four columns deep, connected to newly reconstructed wings with grand double curving stairs that served as service buildings, housing kitchens, shops, guards, and servants. The University of Potsdam now occupies them.

Cecilienhof Palace. Built in 1917, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm. It is a 2-story half-timbered construction on a stone base. This is where the July 17 – August 2, 1945, Potsdam Conference was held when Churchill, Stalin and Truman determined how to administer Germany that had agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier on May 8. €8

POTSDAM CONFERENCE
Decisions:
Germany and Austria were to be divided into four occupation zones each, as were Berlin and Vienna.
Nazi war criminals would be put on trial.
All German annexations were to be reversed, including Sudetenland, Alsace-Lorraine, Austria and western Poland.
Germany’s eastern border was to be shifted westward to the Oder-Neisse line, reducing Germany in size by about 25% from its 1937 borders. The territories east of Germany were East Prussia, Silesia, West Prussia, and two-thirds of Pomerania – mainly agricultural, except for Upper Silesia, the second-largest centre of German industry.
Expulsion of German populations beyond that border from Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary, but not Yugoslavia.
War reparations to the Soviet Union included 10% of Germany’s industrial capacity that was deemed unnecessary for the German economy in peace.
German standards of living would not exceed the European average.
German industrial war potential was to be destroyed (all civilian shipyards and aircraft factories, metals, chemicals, and machinery were to be reduced to a minimum). All research and international trade were to be controlled. Germany was to be converted into an agricultural and light industrial economy (exports were to be coal, beer, toys and textiles).
Babelsberg Palace. Built between 1835 and 1849, it was the summer residence of Prince William, later King William I. In Babelsberg Park, on the far side of Lake Wannsee, this appears to be a new building, yet it boasts the trimmings of a castle – crenellated towers, rooflines, and false turrets. It is open to the public only for special exhibits.

GO TO Germany – Berlin August 31-Sept 2, 2019

ADGB Trade Union School, Bernau bei Berlin. In the NM “Modern Architecture Buildings” series. This building is NE of Berlin and one of the early Bauhaus-designed buildings.

From Berlin, I decided to take a long loop through eastern Germany along the Polish border to see many XL series sites in both Germany and those in Poland that I had missed, as they were so out of the way. Most are twin cities on either side of the border formed by the Oder-Neisse Line, which became the border in 1945, separating the River Oder and the River Neisse. I ended up crossing the river 5 times.
The big businesses in Poland are selling cigarettes at half the price in Germany, as well as offering cheaper hairdresser services and lower gas prices.

Küstriner Vorland, Germany (pop 2,600) / Kostryn nad Odra, Poland (pop 20,000. Burned down by Napoleon’s troops in 1806 and 95% destroyed in WW II. Przystanek Woodstock festival is the largest open-air music festival in Europe.

Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany (pop 58,000. Burned down in 1945, high unemployment and low growth since 1990) / Slubice, Poland (pop 18,000.
Wikipedia Monument. In a small square in Slubice, it shows four nude figures holding aloft a globe based on the Wikipedia logo. It was erected in 2014 to highlight the town’s importance as an academic centre – Polish Wikipedia is the 12^th largest Wikipedia.

Guben, Germany (pop 20,000. Since the 16^th century, the economy has been based on textiles, including leather gloves, hats, rugs, and shoes. Now has a factory producing plastic cadavers./Gubin, Poland

Forst, Germany (pop 18,000), Extreme unemployment since 1990 / Zasieki, Poland (pop 300)

Bad Muskau, Germany (pop 3,700. Bad refers to the spa built here) / Leknica, Poland (pop 2,600. In WW II, 70% of the city was destroyed, including the brown coal mine, glass works and slate factory.
Muskau Park. This is the largest and most famous English garden in Central Europe, stretching along both sides of the Neisse River and connected by the English pedestrian bridge. Built in 1815 by Prince Hermann von Puckler-Muskau (1785-1871) and centred on his residence, Schloss Muskau (a medieval castle reconstructed, destroyed in WW II and Old Castle rebuilt by the Polish government from 1965-72, the New Castle is still being reconstructed). The park spans 3.5 km², with 1.4 km² in Poland and 2.1 km² in Germany. The heart of the park is on the park terraces on the east side.
In 2004, it became a WHS due to its ideal artificial landscape and its influence on the development of landscape architecture as a discipline.

GO TO Germany – Saxony (Dresden, Leipzig, Chemnitz)