You can reach Platz der Einheit square by tram from the Potsdam Main Rail Station.
The Platz der Einheit (Unity Square) is one of the places in town which emerged in the 18th century because the swampy terrain was not arable, and thus couldn't be used for the town extensions in any other way. Among these places, is what is known as the Plantage (the Plantation), which Lenné designed in 1850, with a tiny remnant still surviving in Yorckstraße and Bassinplatz square.
Platz der Einheit
At one time, the site of a large body of water whose name, the Faule See (Rotten Lake), must have referred to a foul smell. In the course of the First Town Extension, this lake was filled in 1722-1724, and bit by bit was surrounded by townhouses. Again and again during the following years, the marshy land was a recurring problem. Between 1786 and 1789, the area was built up, and under Frederick William II underwent its first conversion into a park. From this time until 1945, it bore the name Wilhelmplatz, became a popular strolling place for Potsdamers. In 1831, the terrain had to be solidified again and Lenné re-designed it. In 1845 an equestrian statue of Frederick William III marked the center of the square. Lenné re-designed the square again in 1862: depictions show two rows of trees bordering the square and diagonal pathways crossing it. In 1929 and 1979, sinking areas of the ground had to be evened out again. The last re-design of the square, oriented to Lenné's specifications, was carried out in preparation for the National Horticulture Show 2001.
The buildings surrounding the square were destroyed during World War II. The only building left standing was the post office, but it was also severely damaged. Following a number of predecessor buildings, the first of which was built alongside the canal already in 1783-84, a new post office building was built here after 1894, and Emperor William II himself officially opened it on March 10, 1900. In 1936, the neo-Baroque building lost the cupolas which had originally adorned the main entrance and the side towers.
Severely damaged in 1945, the building was rebuilt as the Potsdam Main Post Office.
To the left of the post office building, a commemorative plaque refers to the Potsdam synagogue which once stood here. Two synagogues had previously existed in Potsdam, the first dating back to 1748, and one was built at what was then Wilhelmplatz Square in 1767. A second was consecrated at this site in 1802. In 1898, Emperor William was presented with two drafts for a new building. He approved the design for a southern German neo-Baroque structure. The new building was consecrated in 1903, but was fated, as with many other such buildings in Germany, to be destroyed on November 9, 1938. It was then conserved to a lecture hall for the German Reichspost - Imperial Post Office - and fell victim to the 1945 air raid.
Opposite the main post office, located at the edge of the lawn, is the memorial for the victims of fascism, which was inaugurated on May 9, 1975.
At the intersection of Straße Am Kanal and Friedrich-Ebert-Straße stands the Memorial for the Unknown Deserter, designed by the Turkish sculptor Mehmet Aksoy (born 1939). The attempt to place the artwork in Bonn in 1989, the city for which it was created and paid for with donations, failed because of the considerable resistance of conservative groups. In August 1990, the city council decided to set up the memorial here in Potsdam, Bonn's sister city. After various provisional arrangements, the memorial was permanently included in the new design of the Platz der Einheit Square in 1999.
Platz der Einheit, Bassinplatz Squares and the Dutch Quarter
Bassinplatz Square
Of the three squares in the city center already mentioned the Bassinplatz is the largest. The former marshland here was drained between 1737 and 1739. The water, thus accumulated, was collected in the so-called Holländischen Bassin - the Dutch Basin - which had an area of 230 meters by 150 meters. In 1739, on a small island in the middle of the Baroque water basin, Jan Bouman had a summer house constructed exactly in the centerline of the Brandenburger Straße, the so-called "Gloriette."
A navigable open ditch connected the pond with the Heiliger See lake and received the influx of water; the drainage took place through pipes which ran underground across the Wilhelmplatz Square to the town canal. By 1800, the canal, the borders and the pipes had to be renewed several times. As early as 1779, the first reports were written about rubbish left at the square. The basin was renovated from 1800 to 1805, but it only continued to exist until 1825. In that year, Lenné redesigned the square, whereby the basin was filled-in except for a small circular basin with a diameter of 60 meters. In 1868 it was decided to repair the basin entirely.
Between 1871 and 1883 the basin was filled-in, a square was laid out, garden facilities were made, and the Gloriette was retained. It was only in 1945 when the square was eliminated to make way for the Soviet Memorial Cemetery. In 1972, a bus terminal was built on the south-western side of the square, which has since been demolished.
The laying of the foundation stone for the tower of the St. Peter and Paul Church took place in 1867 as construction began on the Catholic Civil and Garrison Church for Potsdam. There were two previous buildings (1722, 1738) on the grounds of the former arms factory at the present day Henning-von-Tresckow-Straße. The new church with Byzantine and Romanesque elements was consecrated in 1870. The tower has a height of 62.76 meters, the St. Zeno Church in Verona serving as its model. In the church three paintings of Frederick II's court painter Antoine Pesne can be seen: the high altar image, "Christ's Fear of Death" and the two side altar paintings of the handing-over of the rosary and the guardian angel.
Behind the church the Soviet memorial cemetery is located, which was laid out in 1945. Not only are some 400 Soviet soldiers buried here, but also civilians who died in Potsdam.
Opposite the church, a row of Dutch-style houses stands out. Initially standardized-type houses, as usual in the course of the Second Town Extension, they were replaced in 1776-77 by imposing three-storey brick buildings designed by Carl von Gontard (1731-1791) on order of Frederick II. The plaque at house number 10 unfortunately contains a historical error.
Indeed, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stayed in Potsdam in 1789, but not in this house. In a letter to his wife Constanze he wrote: "My dear little woman! Potsdam is an expensive place and I have to live upon my own resources here. There isn't a lot to be made at the academy... consequently upon my return you shall have to look forward more to me than to the money ...."
French Church
Von Knobelsdorff was the architect of the French Church, built from 1751 to 1753, and Jan Bouman was the master-builder. It is the only church which was paid for out of King Frederick the Great's private coffers. The king and architect drew inspiration from the Pantheon in Rome while designing the draft for the church.
After the Edict of Potsdam (1685), some Huguenots also found refuge in Potsdam. More came after 1719, in the course of the First Town Extension east of the present day Platz der Einheit square, when Frederick William I had the French Quarter (some 50 houses) constructed for them and other immigrants. On July 21, 1723, the French-Reformed parish was established in Potsdam. The first worship services were held in the chapel of the City Palace, and later in the Garrison Church for three years.
By a royal edict of 1731, the French-Reformed parish (with some 100 members) received its own constitution for the French colony. Subsequently, the French colony formed its own independent political, ecclesiastical, and cultural community within Potsdam, having its own judges, policemen, court officers, and other privileges. The special rights were applied to all immigrants who submitted to the French jurisdiction. This gave rise to tensions with the German inhabitants. Southern German Calvinists, Swiss, Hungarians, and Dutch joined the parish - in addition to further Huguenots who moved into the area - among them the master-builder Jan Bouman. The privileges expired in 1809 with the Stein-Hardenberg reforms.
When Prussia was defeated by Napoleon's troops, the church served as stable and feed storage for the French cavalry after 1806. In 1832, the interior was restored thoroughly according to a plan by Schinkel. In 1883-84 the church was renovated again. Initially rebuilt after the damage of the WW I, it later had to be closed down in 1968 became of its unsafe condition. Between 1991 and the 250th anniversary of its consecration celebrated in 2003, the church was thoroughly restored and furnished with a baroque Grüneberg organ.
Today, the church's interior respects the religious traditions of the French-Reformed parishioners.
Holländisches Viertel - Dutch Quarter
Frederick William I wanted to bring skilled craftsmen with experience in construction work on difficult terrain to Potsdam. In 1732, when he had already made his plan for the Second Town Extension, he journeyed through the Netherlands. The king then recruited three craftsmen and one bricklayer in Amsterdam. They arrived in Potsdam in October of the same year. One of them was Jan Bouman, who came here along with his wife.
In 1733, the construction of the Dutch Quarter began under the direction of Jan Bouman. The first to be built was the row of houses along the present day Friedrich-Ebert-Straße and the adjacent blocks. In 1738, the King offered far-reaching privileges to people to move into these houses: each Dutch craftsman who moved to Potsdam would get a house, be freed from the billeting of soldiers, enjoy freedom of conscience, and be provided with contracts for work. Nevertheless, only 18 of the first 40 houses in the new quarter were occupied by Dutch craftsmen, among them carpenters, bricklayers, velvet-makers, a locksmith, and a silk-printer.
When the king died in 1740, still only half of the houses were completed.
Frederick II had the construction work continued, despite the start of the First Silesian War. He also renewed the privileges. In September 1742 all of the 134 houses of the four blocks in the Dutch Quarter were completed. However, the families of only 22 Dutch craftsmen lived in them. Fifty-four houses were used by soldiers and their widows, the remaining ones by German and French families.
The Jan Bouman House is found in Mittelstraße Nr. 8, a typical gabled house from 1735. It has retained its original substance. The restored ensemble of front house, courtyard, half-timbered back premises, and house garden can be experienced in its original form. Inside the house the history of the Dutch Quarter is documented.
The Dutch Quarter is today the only enclosed ensemble of Dutch style architecture outside of the Netherlands. With its many small shops and restaurants, inns, cafés, and galleries, it is a special attraction for tourists.
Potsdam Museum
The historic Dutch house in Benkertstraße Nr. 3 was built in 1733-40. In 1987, the city of Potsdam bought the building to use as a museum. After thorough restoration and reconstruction work, the Potsdam Museum moved into the building in 1999 with exhibits on art and history.
Scenes of old Potsdam, valuable paintings and graphics from the 18th to 20th centuries, as well as landscape paintings from the March of Brandenburg from the 19th century, are displayed in the rooms on the upper floor. Another exhibit shows with photographic views of Potsdam before and after World War II. The current permanent loan exhibits and alternating exhibits on special subjects regarding art and culture in Potsdam can be seen on the ground floor of the Potsdam Museum, which is just under 100 years old.
The collections of the museum consist of more than 150,000 items from the cultural and everyday life of the 17th to 20th centuries: furniture, glassware, cloths, photographs, militaria, posters, toys, tin flats, old documents and prints, historic works of applied arts, sculpture, crafts and technological products, items of daily life, decorative ironwork, watches, coins, badges, tags, maps of Brandenburg, old prints, and old drawings and paintings by Potsdam artists from the 18th to 20th centuries. The history of Potsdam is documented by a huge collection of photographs.
The 'Lindenstraße 54' memorial is also part of the Potsdam Museum. A former interrogation prison of the GDR Ministry of State Security, the building is now used for exhibits, and a tour informs visitors about the consequences of dictatorial power in the 20th century.
Lindenstraße 54, 14467 Potsdam, in the "Commandant's House."
