Cecilienhof Palace - Potsdam, Germany
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Bernd das Brot Team
N 52° 25.150 E 013° 04.250
33U E 368808 N 5809411
The last castle of the Hohenzollern dynasty
Waymark Code: WM100XX
Location: Brandenburg, Germany
Date Posted: 02/04/2019
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
Views: 2
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Cecilienhof Palace was built in 1917 as the residence of German Crown Pprince William and his wife Duchess Cecilie (in German, Cecilienhof means Cecilie's Court).

The pallace was the last castle built by the Hohenzollern Dynasty, which had ruled Brandenburg and Prussia for over 500 years since 1415.

It was designed by architect Paul Schultze-Naumburg in the cottage and Tudor style. Inspiration was the English cottage Bidston Court.

The royal couple could enjoy their new home only for one year. In 1918, the German Revolution ended the monarchy and the royal family was exiled to Holland and the castle became property of the German Republic.

In 1926, Prince William and his family were permitted to return to Potsdam as private citizen without royal privileges and to live in Cecilienhof as private tenants.

In 1945, shortly before the Soviet Army took Potsdam, the fled into the American occupied Zone of Germany, where they lived for the rest of their lives.

 Churchill, Truman and Stalin in the Cecilienhof garden, 25 July 1945
Source: Wikipedia

In July/August 1945, the castle was the location of the Potsdam Conference, in which the leaders of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States decided the post war order for Europe and Asia.

On lasting (and now famous) legacy of the Soviet occupation is a large red star made of red flowers in front of the building.

Unfortunately, when we visited the castle, there was a lot of reconstruction going on (above left) and we were not able to take a picture of the most prominent location, the courtyard with the red star. We borrowed a picture from Wikipedia (above right).

Accessibility: Full access

Condition: Intact

Admission Charge?: yes

Website: [Web Link]
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boti007 visited Cecilienhof Palace - Potsdam, Germany 07/27/2019 boti007 visited it