It will seem as though you are wandering back through time when you stroll around Potsdam's downtown. Arriving by boat or train, your journey begins right at the city's birthplace, the Alter Markt square. Here, at the site of Potsdam's oldest Havel river crossing, already stood a castle in early medieval times in order to safeguard the important trade route.
For centuries, the Old Market (which Frederick the Great had reshaped in the form of a Roman piazza) remained the city's business and political center, with the StadtSchloss city palace, Nicolaikirche church, and the Altem Rathaus (the old city hall). However, from one of the most famous buildings in Potsdam, the Stadtschloss, there is only a single element surviving in its original version today: the Marstall - the Royal Stables. The city palace, which was built by order of Elector Frederick William, received its final renovation in 1751.
In 1959, surviving ruins from a severe WWII bombing on April 14, 1945 were finally pulled down. In 2002, the Fortunaportal (Gate of Fortune) was re-constructed in its original historic position, marking the first step in the rebuilding of that famous Potsdam landmark.
At one time, the grand dome of the Nicolaikirche, together with the towers of the Garrison church and the Church of the Holy Ghost, distinguished the city's skyline. The Nicolaikirche would be rebuilt, and an architecturally ambitious new church was erected in 1997 on the site of the Church of the Holy Ghost. The Potsdam carillon is a reminder of the Garrison church which was demolished in 1968. Its reconstruction is now being promoted by the Church and private sponsors.
The Lustgarten pleasance, which was re-designed for the 2001 National Horticulture Show (BUGA), is located very close to the Alter Markt. In the same spot where the military once performed drills in the time of King Frederick I, there is the hustle and bustle of fairs, city festivals, and other special events today. A small park with its Neptune fountain is an inviting resting place, and facilities for skaters and fields for ball-playing are open to all sport fans. No far from here you will see Potsdam's harbor, where the cruise boats of the White Fleet tie up alongside.
Behind the Royal Stables, where the Film Museum exhibit is now housed, the path leads across the Neuen Markt square to the Stadtkanal (city canal) - well, a section of it at least, its reconstruction of which many Potsdamers made generous donations. The historic canal, which once provided a Venice-like ambience for Potsdam, was filled-in in the 1960s.
