Potsdam

Potsdam grew beside the Havel amid lakes and wooded country west of Berlin. A modest settlement became a residence of the Brandenburg electors, who saw in its waterways and hunting grounds a setting for a court. From 1660 Frederick William, the Great Elector, rebuilt the old castle as a palace with gardens, beginning the transformation of Potsdam into a princely town.

In 1685 Frederick William signed the Edict of Potsdam in the palace, offering refuge and privileges to French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution. Under Frederick William I the town expanded as a garrison and royal residence. Craftsmen from many places, including the Netherlands, helped build new quarters; the Dutch Quarter gave the growing city a distinctive group of brick houses. Frederick II continued the work after 1740. His architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff redesigned the city palace and built Sanssouci between 1745 and 1747 as a royal retreat above vineyard terraces. Palaces, gardens and public buildings made Potsdam a companion residence to Berlin. In 1790 a paved road over the Glienicke Bridge linked the two cities more directly.