7 Palaces to explore in Brandenburg
In late medieval and early modern times, Brandenburg was one of seven electoral states of the Holy Roman Empire, and, along with Prussia, formed the original core of the German Empire, the first unified German state.
Babelsberg Palace is located in the eponymous park in Potsdam. For more than 50 years, it was the summer residence for royals. It was placed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. The building, designed in the English Gothic revival style, was built in two phases over the period 1835–1849.
This 114-hectare park is located in the north-east of Potsdam, bordering on the Tiefen See lake on the River Havel. It was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. The park was created in rolling terrain sloping down towards the lake.
Cecilienhof Palace is located in Potsdam, Germany, built in 1917 in an English Tudor manor house's layout. Cecilienhof was the last palace established by the House of Hohenzollern that ruled the Prussia Kingdom and the German Empire until World War I. Cecilienhof Palace was the location of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, in which the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States made important decisions affecting the shape of post World War II Europe and Asia.
The New Garden is a park in Potsdam with 102.5 hectares located south-west Berlin, Germany. Starting in 1787, Frederick William II arranged to have a new garden in this location and later, and it came to be known by this rather prosaic name. The New Garden is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990. Cecilienhof Palace is located in the northern part of the New Garden.
The New Palace is situated on the Sanssouci park's western side in Potsdam, Germany. It was built in 1769 and considered to be the last grand Prussian baroque palace. The palace was built in varying forms of Baroque architecture and decoration. The building of the palace commenced in 1763, at the end of the Seven Years' War, to celebrate Prussia’s success.
Rheinsberg Palace is located in the Rheinsberg Municipality, about 100 km north-west from Berlin, German, in Ostprignitz-Ruppin. The Palace on the eastern bank of the Grienericksee is a classic example of the so-called Frederician Rococo architecture style and it served as a basis for Sanssouci Palace. The palace is home to the Kurt Tucholsky Literature Museum.
Sanssouci was the summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia. The palace's name emphasizes this; it is a French phrase (sans Souci), which translates as "without concerns", meaning "without worries" or "carefree", symbolizing that the palace was a place for relaxation rather than a seat of power.