Marquardt is an old March village in an idyllic setting between the Wublitz brook, Schlänitzsee lake, and the Sacrow-Paretzer canal. The original settlement style of the manor house villages of Schorin and Marquardt only really changed after 1970, when it became more and more important as a residential area amid the Havelland fruit-growing region. The number of inhabitants doubled and exceeded 1,000 in the year 2002.
The village has held the name Marquardt only since 1704, when the important palace captain and director of the Marquardt manor, Ludwig von Printzen, received the Schorin manor as a fief. King Frederick I allowed the later minister and first court marshal to rename the village after his own given name. Since the first mentioning of Skoryn, later renamed Schorin in 1313, the ownership of the former manor house estate has been completely recorded.
The place became historically important in 1795, when the general and close friend of King Frederick William II, Hans Rudolph von Bischoffwerder, received Marquardt as a retirement home. Theodor Fontane wrote detailed chapters on Marquardt and the 'Secret Societies' in his "Hikes through the Brandenburg March."
The Marquardt palace park, which is under preservation order today, was built according to a sketched plan personally drawn by Peter Joseph Lenné in 1823. In 1892, the Privy Commercy Councillor Dr. Louis Ravené, a well-known steel merchant from Berlin, acquired the manor. It is primarily through the construction of extensions and additional stories that the palace has received its current appearance. From 1932, the renowned Kempinski hotel company rented the ensemble of the Marquardt palace and park, which afterwards became a popular place for outings, especially for Berliners.
Today Marquardt is a district of Potsdam with a correspondingly-modern infrastructure. The direct traffic link to the major road 273 and to the Berliner Ring (A 10 motorway), as well as regular train and bus transport, permit rapid commuting to the city centers of Potsdam and Berlin. On the other hand, Marquardt is a popular place for outings for the Berliners and Potsdamers and all those visiting who want to enjoy the idyllic Havelland landscape. The local culture and history society (Kultur- und Heimatverein), the anglers club, the volunteer fire-fighters and various sports clubs offer a multitude of possibilities for leisure-time activities.
