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83-505: In the early 14th century the Frankfurter Altstadt (old town) gradually began to expand beyond its borders; documentation from the 1320s of buildings erected outside of the city wall testifies to the growing need for expansion. With the permission of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, the free imperial city began its so-called "second city expansion," increasing the surface area of the city threefold. In 1343, only ten years after

166-581: A Republic at the end of World War I . After the Nazis seized power in 1933 , there was a ceremonial handshake between President Paul von Hindenburg and the new Chancellor Adolf Hitler on 21 March 1933 in Potsdam's Garrison Church in what became known as the " Day of Potsdam ". This symbolised a coalition of the military ( Reichswehr ) and Nazism . Potsdam was severely damaged by Allied bombing raids during World War II . The Cecilienhof Palace

249-502: A considerable time, even though no formal right to independence existed. These cities were typically located in small territories where the ruler was weak. They were the exception among the multitude of territorial towns and cities. Cities of both latter categories normally had representation in territorial diets , but not in the Imperial Diet. Free imperial cities were not officially admitted as individual Imperial Estates to

332-604: A few cases, such as in Cologne, the former ecclesiastical lord continued to claim the right to exercise some residual feudal privileges over the Free City, a claim that gave rise to constant litigation almost until the end of the Empire. Over time, the difference between Imperial Cities and Free Cities became increasingly blurred, so that they became collectively known as "Free Imperial Cities", or "Free and Imperial Cities", and by

415-425: A say in the government of the city, were the citizens or burghers, the smaller, privileged section of the city's permanent population whose number varied according to the rule of citizenship of each city. There were exceptions, such as Nuremberg , where the patriciate ruled alone. To the common town dweller – whether he lived in a prestigious Free Imperial City like Frankfurt, Augsburg or Nuremberg, or in

498-438: A small market town such as there were hundreds throughout Germany – attaining burgher status ( Bürgerrecht ) could be his greatest aim in life. The burgher status was usually an inherited privilege renewed pro-forma in each generation of the family concerned but it could also be purchased. At times, the sale of burgher status could be a significant item of town income as fiscal records show. The Bürgerrecht

581-606: A state after the war due to its special position in divided post-war Germany. Regensburg was, apart from hosting the Imperial Diet , a most peculiar city: an officially Lutheran city that was the seat of the Catholic prince-bishopric of Regensburg, its prince-bishop and cathedral chapter. The Imperial City also housed three Imperial abbeys: St. Emmeram , Niedermünster and Obermünster . They were five immediate entities fully independent of each other existing in

664-427: Is 47 metres high, consisting of eight levels and two attics (see diagram, left). Atop a square base that houses the gate sits a round tower, which culminates in a steep spire appointed with four, small, equally proportioned side turrets and a projecting battlement. Adolfsturm , a similar tower built in the imperial city of Friedberg in 1347, may have served as a model. Originally, Große Eschenheimer Straße led through

747-427: Is now Switzerland with cities like Bern, Zürich and Luzern, but also cities like Ulm, Nuremberg and Hamburg in what is now Germany possessed substantial hinterlands or fiefs that comprised dozens of villages and thousands of subject peasants who did not enjoy the same rights as the urban population. At the opposite end, the authority of Cologne, Aachen, Worms, Goslar, Wetzlar, Augsburg and Regensburg barely extended beyond

830-542: Is over 1,000 years old, is widely known for its palaces, its lakes, and its overall historical and cultural significance. Landmarks include the parks and palaces of Sanssouci , Germany's largest World Heritage Site, as well as other palaces such as the Orangery Palace , the New Palace , Cecilienhof Palace , and Charlottenhof Palace . Potsdam was also the location of the significant Potsdam Conference in 1945,

913-415: Is said to have been so impressed by the spectacle that it pardoned Winkelsee. The holes in the weather vane are clearly visible today, but it is no longer the same vane. The tower is now set in a large, very busy plaza, called Eschenheimer Tor (Eschenheimer Gate). Underneath Eschenheimer Tor is a subway station, which was erected in 1963–1968. The subway tunnel passes directly under the foundations of

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996-540: Is served by several motorways : the A 10 , a beltway better known as Berliner Ring , the A 115 (using part of the AVUS ) and is closely linked to the A 2 and A 9 . The B 1 and B 2 federal roads cross the city. Potsdam features a network of urban and suburban buses. Potsdam is connected to national and international air traffic via Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), which is around 40 kilometers to

1079-526: Is that it derives from an old West Slavonic term meaning "beneath the oaks", i.e., the corrupted pod dubmi/dubimi ( pod "beneath", dub "oak"). However, some question this explanation. The area around Potsdam shows signs of occupancy since the Bronze Age and was part of Magna Germania as described by Tacitus . After the great migrations of the Germanic peoples, Slavs moved in and Potsdam

1162-844: The Fachhochschule Potsdam was founded as the second college. It had 3,518 students as of 2017. Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg (HFF), founded in 1954 in Babelsberg , is the foremost centre of the German film industry since its birth, with over 600 students. There are also several research foundations, including Fraunhofer Institutes for Applied Polymer Research and Biomedical Engineering, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics ( Albert Einstein Institute ), Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, and Max Planck Institute for Molecular Plant Physiology,

1245-575: The Austro-Prussian War of 1866. The three other Free Cities became constituent states of the new German Empire in 1871 and consequently were no longer fully sovereign as they lost control over defence, foreign affairs and a few other fields. They retained that status in the Weimar Republic and into Nazi Germany , although under Hitler it became purely notional. Due to Hitler's distaste for Lübeck and its liberal tradition,

1328-487: The Holy Roman Empire , the collective term free and imperial cities (German: Freie und Reichsstädte ), briefly worded free imperial city ( Freie Reichsstadt , Latin : urbs imperialis libera ), was used from the 15th century to denote a self-ruling city that had a certain amount of autonomy and was represented in the Imperial Diet . An imperial city held the status of imperial immediacy , and

1411-574: The Imperial Diet until 1489, and even then their votes were usually considered only advisory ( votum consultativum ) compared to the benches of the electors and princes. The cities divided themselves into two groups, or benches, in the Imperial Diet, the Rhenish and the Swabian benches. These same cities were among the 85 free imperial cities listed on the Reichsmatrikel of 1521,

1494-711: The Netherlands and Bohemia . The edict accelerated population growth and economic recovery. Later, the city became a full residence of the Prussian royal family. The buildings of the royal residences were built mainly during the reign of Frederick the Great . One of these is the Sanssouci Palace (French: "without cares" or "no concern", by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff , 1744), famed for its formal gardens and Rococo interiors. Other royal residences include

1577-542: The New Palace and the Orangery . In 1815, at the formation of the Province of Brandenburg , Potsdam became the provincial capital until 1918, except for a period between 1827 and 1843 when Berlin was the provincial capital (as it became once again after 1918). The province comprised two governorates named after their capitals Potsdam and Frankfurt (Oder) . Between 1815 and 1945, the city of Potsdam served as capital of

1660-680: The Perpetual Imperial Diet was located, were represented by various Regensburg lawyers and officials who often represented several cities simultaneously. Instead, many cities found it more profitable to maintain agents at the Aulic Council in Vienna, where the risk of an adverse judgment posed a greater risk to city treasuries and independence. The territory of most Free Imperial Cities was generally quite small but there were exceptions. The largest territories formed in what

1743-594: The Regierungsbezirk of Potsdam  [ de ] ( German : Regierungsbezirk Potsdam ). The Regierungsbezirk encompassed the former districts of Uckermark , the Mark of Priegnitz, and the greater part of the Middle March . It was situated between Mecklenburg and the Province of Pomerania on the north, and the Province of Saxony on the south and west (Berlin, with a small surrounding district,

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1826-546: The S7 S-Bahn line. The stations served are Griebnitzsee , Babelsberg and the Central Station ( Hauptbahnhof ), the main and long-distance station of the city. Other DB stations in Potsdam are Charlottenhof , Park Sanssouci (including the monumental Kaiserbahnhof ), Medienstadt Babelsberg , Rehbrücke , Pirschheide and Marquardt . The city also possesses a 27 km-long tramway network . Potsdam

1909-666: The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). A continuous Hohenzollern possession since 1415, Potsdam became prominent, when it was chosen in 1660 as the hunting residence of Frederick William I , Elector of Brandenburg , the core of the powerful state that later became the Kingdom of Prussia . It also housed Prussian barracks . After the Edict of Potsdam in 1685, Potsdam became a centre of European immigration. Its religious freedom attracted people from France ( Huguenots ), Russia ,

1992-621: The fall of the Berlin Wall . The Filmstudio Babelsberg , founded in 1912, is the oldest large-scale film studio in the world. Potsdam developed into a centre of science in Germany in the 19th century. Today, there are three public colleges, the University of Potsdam , and more than 30 research institutes in the city. The area was formed from a series of large moraines left after the last glacial period . Today, only one quarter of

2075-508: The 50 free imperial cities that took part in the Imperial Diet of 1792. They are listed according to their voting order on the Rhenish and Swabian benches. By the time of the Peace of Westphalia, the cities constituted a formal third "college" and their full vote ( votum decisivum ) was confirmed, although they failed to secure parity of representation with the two other colleges. To avoid

2158-525: The Brandenburg and Berlin region. Potsdam was historically a centre of European immigration. Its religious tolerance attracted people from France, Russia, the Netherlands and Bohemia. This is still visible in the culture and architecture of the city. The most popular attraction in Potsdam is Sanssouci Park , 2 km (1 mi) west of the city centre. In 1744 King Frederick the Great ordered

2241-597: The Diet could vote a second and a third simplum , in which case each member's contribution was doubled or tripled. At the time, the free imperial cities were considered wealthy and the monetary contribution of Nuremberg, Ulm and Cologne for instance were as high as that of the Electors ( Mainz , Trier , Cologne , Palatinate , Saxony , Brandenburg ) and the Dukes of Württemberg and of Lorraine . The following list contains

2324-524: The Empire was slower than that of the secular and ecclesiastical princes. In the course of the 13th and 14th centuries, some cities were promoted by the emperor to the status of Imperial Cities ( Reichsstädte ; Urbes imperiales ), essentially for fiscal reasons. Those cities, which had been founded by the German kings and emperors in the 10th through 13th centuries and had initially been administered by royal/imperial stewards ( Vögte ), gradually gained independence as their city magistrates assumed

2407-689: The GFZ – German Research Centre for Geosciences , the Potsdam Astrophysical Institute, the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, which employs 340 people in researching climate change . As well as universities, Potsdam is home to reputable secondary schools . Montessori Gesamtschule Potsdam , in western Potsdam, attracts 400 students from

2490-737: The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved in 1806. By 1811, all of the Imperial Cities had lost their independence – Augsburg and Nuremberg had been annexed by Bavaria , Frankfurt had become the center of the Grand Duchy of Frankfurt , a Napoleonic puppet state , and the three Hanseatic cities had been directly annexed by France as part of its effort to enforce the Continental Blockade against Britain. Hamburg and Lübeck with surrounding territories formed

2573-640: The Reformation, and of the sixty Free Imperial Cities that remained at the Peace of Westphalia , all but the ten Alsatian cities which were annexed by France during the late 17th century continued to exist until the mediatization of 1803. The Empire had approximately 4000 towns and cities, although fewer than 400 of these had more than a thousand inhabitants around the year 1600. During the Late Middle Ages, fewer than 200 of these places ever enjoyed

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2656-644: The areas west of the Rhine were annexed to France by the revolutionary armies, suppressing the independence of Imperial Cities as diverse as Cologne, Aachen, Speyer and Worms. Then, the Napoleonic Wars led to the reorganization of the Empire in 1803 (see German Mediatisation ), where all of the free cities but six – Hamburg , Bremen , Lübeck , Frankfurt, Augsburg , and Nuremberg  – lost their independence and were absorbed into neighboring territories. Under pressure from Napoleon,

2739-420: The case of Hamburg in 1708, the situation was considered sufficiently serious to warrant the dispatch of an Imperial commissioner with troops to restore order and negotiate a compromise and a new city constitution between the warring parties. The number of Imperial Cities shrank over time until the Peace of Westphalia. There were more in areas that were very fragmented politically, such as Swabia and Franconia in

2822-583: The city and of many of its boroughs are of Slavic origin. Potsdam was a residence of the Prussian kings and the German Emperor until 1918. Its planning embodied ideas of the Age of Enlightenment : through a careful balance of architecture and landscape, Potsdam was intended as "a picturesque, pastoral dream" which would remind its residents of their relationship with nature and reason. The city, which

2905-507: The city has a humid continental climate ( Dfb ), which also shows a slight influence of the continent different from the climates predominantly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean . Low averages below freezing for almost all winter causing snows that are frequent and winters are cold, but not as stringent as inland locations or with greater influence from the same. Summer is also relatively warm with temperatures between 23 and 24 °C,

2988-436: The city in 2003. The appearance of the city boroughs is quite different. Those in the north and in the centre consist mainly of historical buildings, the south of the city is dominated by larger areas of newer buildings. The city of Potsdam is divided into 32 Stadtteile (boroughs, both quarters and suburbs/wards together), which are divided further into 84 statistical Bezirke (districts). Today, one distinguishes between

3071-593: The city is built up, the rest remaining as green space. There are about 20 lakes and rivers in and around Potsdam, such as the Havel , the Griebnitzsee , Templiner See , Tiefer See , Jungfernsee , Teltowkanal, Heiliger See , and Sacrower See . The highest point is the 114-metre (374 ft) high Kleiner Ravensberg . Potsdam is divided into seven historic city Stadtteile (quarters) and nine new Ortsteile (suburbs/wards, former separate villages), which joined

3154-442: The city walls. The constitution of Free and Imperial Cities was republican in form, but in all but the smallest cities, the city government was oligarchic in nature with a governing town council composed of an elite, hereditary patrician class, the so-called town council families ( Ratsverwandte ). They were the most economically significant burgher families who had asserted themselves politically over time. Below them, with

3237-580: The city was temporary, such as wintering noblemen, foreign merchants, princely officials, and so on. Urban conflicts in Free Imperial Cities, which sometimes amounted to class warfare, were not uncommon in the Early Modern Age, particularly in the 17th century (Lübeck, 1598–1669; Schwäbisch Hall, 1601–1604; Frankfurt, 1612–1614; Wezlar, 1612–1615; Erfurt, 1648–1664; Cologne, 1680–1685; Hamburg 1678–1693, 1702–1708). Sometimes, as in

3320-568: The conference where the three heads of government of the USSR, the US, and the UK decided on the division of Germany following its surrender, a conference which defined Germany's history for the following 45 years. Babelsberg , in the south-eastern part of Potsdam, was already by the 1930s the home of a major film production studio and it has enjoyed success as an important center of European film production since

3403-584: The construction of a residence here, where he could live sans souci ("without worries", in the French spoken at the court). The park hosts a botanical garden ( Botanical Garden, Potsdam ) and many buildings: Three gates from the original city wall remain today. The oldest is the Hunters' Gate ( Jägertor ), built in 1733. The Nauener Tor was built in 1755 and close to the historic Dutch Quarter. The ornate Brandenburg Gate (built in 1770, not to be confused with

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3486-584: The construction of the Berlin Wall . The walling off of West Berlin not only isolated Potsdam from West Berlin, but also doubled commuting times to East Berlin . The Glienicke Bridge across the Havel connected the city to West Berlin and was the scene of some Cold War exchanges of spies . After German reunification , Potsdam became the capital of the newly re-established state of Brandenburg . Since then there have been many ideas and efforts to reconstruct

3569-504: The course of the Middle Ages, cities gained, and sometimes – if rarely – lost, their freedom through the vicissitudes of power politics. Some favored cities gained charters by gift. Others purchased one from a prince in need of funds. Some won it by force of arms during the troubled 13th and 14th centuries and others lost their privileges during the same period by the same way. Some cities became free through

3652-513: The diminutive Free Imperial City of Isny was the equal of the Margraviate of Brandenburg . Having probably learned from experience that there was not much to gain from active, and costly, participation in the Imperial Diet's proceedings due to the lack of empathy of the princes, the cities made little use of their representation in that body. By about 1700, almost all the cities with the exception of Nuremberg, Ulm and Regensburg, where by then

3735-468: The duties of administration and justice; some prominent examples are Colmar , Haguenau , and Mulhouse in Alsace or Memmingen and Ravensburg in upper Swabia . The Free Cities ( Freie Städte ; Urbes liberae ) were those, such as Basel , Augsburg , Cologne or Strasbourg , that were initially subjected to a prince-bishop and, likewise, progressively gained independence from that lord. In

3818-591: The département of Bouches-de-l'Elbe , and Bremen the Bouches-du-Weser . When the German Confederation was established by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Hamburg, Lübeck, Bremen, and Frankfurt were once again made Free Cities, this time enjoying total sovereignty as all the members of the loose Confederation. Frankfurt was annexed by Prussia in consequence of the part it took in

3901-556: The east. Potsdam is a university town . The University of Potsdam was founded in 1991 as a university of the State of Brandenburg. Its predecessor was the Akademie für Staats- und Rechtswissenschaften der DDR " Walter Ulbricht " , a college of education founded in 1948 which was one of the GDR's most important colleges. There are about 20,000 students enrolled at the university. In 1991

3984-623: The elevation to rank of urban Bezirk or affiliation with Potsdam governorate, respectively): Berlin was the capital of Prussia and later of the German Empire , but the court remained in Potsdam, where many government officials settled. In 1914, Emperor Wilhelm II signed the Declaration of War in the Neues Palais (New Palace). The city lost its status as a "second capital" in 1918, when Wilhelm II abdicated and Germany became

4067-550: The establishment of the Neustadt , the construction of the city wall began, also approved by the emperor, in order to protect the Neustadt from the diverse dangers that threatened the city at that time. Apart from a central boulevard Zeil , the site of the cattle market and the Roßmarkt  [ de ] , the new town was primarily devoted to gardens and agriculture, rather than residential or commercial buildings. Although

4150-542: The fireplace room of the tower guard is used by the hospitality operations. Quarterly meetings of the association Freunde Frankfurts (the Friends of Frankfurt) continue to be held in the fireplace room, as is reported in the history of the tower. Visits to the tower battlements are also possible. The last renovation of the tower was initiated by Ruth Schwarz a member of the Freunde Frankfurts . Large sections of

4233-485: The fortification was of great strategic importance. In 1400 the carpenter Klaus Mengoz began construction of a replacement for the first gate tower. The architect of the Frankfurt Cathedral, Madern Gerthener , completed the new Eschenheimer Turm in 1426–1428. In 1806–1812 the old city walls were replaced with new fortifications at the command of the Prussian government, and Eschenheimer Turm, along with all

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4316-429: The gothic arches of the gate, turning into Eschenheimer Landstraße once outside the city fortifications (the street now goes around the tower). The passage could be closed with a portcullis; rubble and stones were stored on the first level (directly above the gate), with which the passageway could be further barricaded in the event of an attack. On the second level, behind 2.5 m (8 ft.) thick walls, were situated

4399-536: The heat waves being influenced by the UHI of Potsdam. The average winter high temperature is 4.0 °C (39.2 °F), with a low of −1.3 °C (29.7 °F). Snow is common in the winter. Spring and autumn are short. Summers are mild, with a high of 24.3 °C (75.7 °F) and a low of 13.5 °C (56.3 °F). The Potsdam weather station has recorded the following extreme values: The name "Potsdam" originally seems to have been Poztupimi . A common theory

4482-511: The imperial civil and military tax-schedule used for more than a century to assess the contributions of all the Imperial Estates in case of a war formally declared by the Imperial Diet. The military and monetary contribution of each city is indicated in parentheses. For instance Cologne (30-322-600) means that Cologne had to provide 30 horsemen, 322 footsoldiers and 600 gulden. These numbers are equivalent to one simplum . If need be,

4565-568: The late 15th century, many cities included both "Free" and "Imperial" in their name. Like the other Imperial Estates, they could wage war, make peace, and control their own trade, and they permitted little interference from outside. In the later Middle Ages, a number of Free Cities formed City Leagues ( Städtebünde ), such as the Hanseatic League or the Alsatian Décapole , to promote and defend their interests. In

4648-424: The living quarters of the tower guard, which remained inhabited until 1956. Both sides of the tower display coats of arms in relief: facing the city is a silver eagle on a red field, the coat of arms the free imperial city of Frankfurt, and on the opposite side is a black double-headed eagle on a golden field, the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire. On the inward-facing side of the tower is a covered balcony, whereas

4731-426: The mayor was selected by the NSDAP and the city council was dissolved; it was reconstituted in token form after 1945, but free elections did not take place until after reunification . Today, the city council is the city's central administrative authority. Local elections took place on 26 October 2003 and again in 2008. Between 1990 and 1999, the Chairman of the City Council was known as the "Town President" but today

4814-411: The need was devised to compensate Prussia for territorial losses under the Greater Hamburg Act , and Lübeck was annexed to Prussia in 1937. In the Federal Republic of Germany which was established after the war, Bremen and Hamburg, but not Lübeck, became constituent states , a status which they retain to the present day. Berlin , which had never been a Free City in its history, received the status of

4897-405: The new fortifications took over 100 years to build, on 11 October 1349, merely three years after the beginning of construction, the cornerstone was laid for a gate tower at the site of the later Eschenheimer Turm , which at the time was simply described as "round." Located at the end of Große Eschenheimer Straße (an extension of the Kornmarkt , the city's second most important north–south axis),

4980-412: The north of the city. For the history of all incorporations, see the relevant section on incorporation and spin-offs. Structure with statistical numbering: At the end of 2019, a change was made to the administrative structure: Officially the climate is oceanic - more degraded by being far from the coast and to the east ( Köppen : Cfb ), but using the 1961–1990 normal and the 0 °C isotherm

5063-495: The older parts of the city (areas of the historic city and places suburbanized at the latest in 1939) – these are the city center, the western and northern suburbs, Bornim, Bornstedt, Nedlitz, Potsdam South, Babelsberg, Drewitz, Stern and Kirchsteigfeld – and those communities incorporated after 1990 which have since 2003 become Ortsteile – these are Eiche, Fahrland, Golm, Groß Glienicke, Grube, Marquardt, Neu Fahrland, Satzkorn and Uetz-Paaren. The new Ortsteile are located mainly in

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5146-415: The original appearance of the city, including the Potsdam City Palace and the Garrison Church . Since 2000 Potsdam has been one of the fastest-growing cities in Germany. Largest groups of foreign residents: Potsdam has had a mayor ( Bürgermeister ) and city council since the 15th century. From 1809 the city council was elected, with a mayor ( Oberbürgermeister ) at its head. During Nazi Germany ,

5229-531: The original staircase and shelves from 1426 to 1428 have been preserved. In 1853–1856, following the example of Eschenheimer Turm, Flatowturm was constructed in Schlosspark Babelsberg in the city of Potsdam . The tower is part of the corporate logo of the former Henninger Bräu AG. Today it serves as the logo for Henninger Kaiser Pils in the Radeberger Gruppe KG. In German: 50°07′01″N 8°40′47″E  /  50.1169°N 8.67972°E  / 50.1169; 8.67972 Free imperial city In

5312-490: The other historic gates and towers, was slated for demolition. At the objection of the ambassador of the French occupying forces, Count d'Hédouville, Eschenheimer Turm was allowed to remain as a monument. Besides Eschenheimer Turm (the most famous of the ca. 60 towers that comprised the city's fortifications), only two other towers—the Rententurm on the Römerberg (Frankfurt's main city square) and Kuhhirtenturm in Alt-Sachsenhausen—were spared demolition. Eschenheimer Turm

5395-450: The outward-facing side is flanked by two small towers. The portrait in relief over the entrance to the restaurant on the city side of the tower is most likely that of the builder, Gerthener. On top of the tower is an iron weather vane. According to legend, Hans Winkelsee, a poacher who was condemned to death and was being held in custody in the Tower, was able to shoot the figure 9 into the weather vane with nine pistol shots. The city council

5478-510: The possibility that they would have the casting vote in case of a tie between the Electors and the Princes, it was decided that these should decide first and consult the cities afterward. Despite this somewhat unequal status of the cities in the functioning of the Imperial Diet, their full admittance to that federal institution was crucial in clarifying their hitherto uncertain status and in legitimizing their permanent existence as full-fledged Imperial Estates. Constitutionally, if in no other way,

5561-410: The post is the "Chairman of the City Council". The mayor is elected directly by the population. The current mayor is Mike Schubert of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) since 2018. The most recent mayoral election was held on 23 September 2018, with a runoff held on 14 October, and the results were as follows: The city council governs the city alongside the mayor. The most recent city council election

5644-585: The rank of urban districts. The principal towns were Brandenburg upon Havel , Köpenick , Potsdam, Prenzlau , Spandau and Ruppin . Until 1875 Berlin also was a town within the governorate. After its disentanglement a number of its suburbs outside Berlin's municipal borders grew to towns, many forming urban Bezirke within the governorate of Potsdam such as Charlottenburg , Lichtenberg , Rixdorf (after 1912 Neukölln), and Schöneberg (all of which, as well as Köpenick and Spandau, incorporated into Greater Berlin in 1920). The urban Bezirke were (years indicating

5727-547: The same small city. Potsdam Potsdam ( German pronunciation: [ˈpotsdam] ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Brandenburg . It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region . Potsdam sits on the River Havel , a tributary of the Elbe , downstream of Berlin, and lies embedded in a hilly morainic landscape dotted with many lakes, around 20 of which are located within Potsdam's city limits. It lies some 25 kilometres (16 miles) southwest of Berlin's city centre. The name of

5810-552: The southwest, than in the North and the East where the larger and more powerful territories, such as Brandenburg and Saxony, were located, which were more prone to absorb smaller, weaker states. In the 16th and 17th century, a number of Imperial Cities were separated from the Empire due to external territorial change. Henry II of France seized the Imperial Cities connected to the Three Bishoprics of Metz , Verdun and Toul . Louis XIV seized many cities based on claims produced by his Chambers of Reunion . That way, Strasbourg and

5893-580: The status of Free Imperial Cities, and some of those did so only for a few decades. The Imperial military tax register ( Reichsmatrikel ) of 1521 listed eighty-five such cities, and this figure had fallen to 65 by the time of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. From the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 to 1803, their number oscillated at around 50. Unlike the Free Imperial Cities, the second category of towns and cities, now called "territorial cities", were subject to an ecclesiastical or lay lord, and while many of them enjoyed self-government to varying degrees, this

5976-614: The ten cities of the Décapole were annexed. When the Old Swiss Confederacy gained its formal independence from the Empire in 1648, it had been de facto independent since 1499, the independence of the Imperial Cities of Basel , Bern , Lucerne , St. Gallen , Schaffhausen , Solothurn , and Zürich was formally recognized. With the rise of Revolutionary France in Europe, this trend accelerated enormously. After 1795,

6059-475: The tower. The midlevel of metro station used to be the only way for pedestrians to cross the plaza or reach the tower. However, in 1992, Eschenheimer tower, which for decades was situated on an inaccessible traffic island, was incorporated into the Schillerstraße pedestrian zone, making it once again accessible to foot traffic. The ground floor has since been repurposed as a bar and restaurant. Furthermore,

6142-649: The void created by the extinction of dominant families, like the Swabian Hohenstaufen . Some voluntarily placed themselves under the protection of a territorial ruler and therefore lost their independence. A few, like Protestant Donauwörth , which in 1607 was annexed to the Catholic Duchy of Bavaria , were stripped by the Emperor of their status as a Free City – for genuine or trumped-up reasons. This rarely happened after

6225-577: The war, were demolished. When in 1946 the remainder of the Province of Brandenburg west of the Oder-Neiße line was constituted as the state of Brandenburg , Potsdam became its capital. In 1952 the GDR disestablished its states and replaced them by smaller new East German administrative districts known as Bezirke . Potsdam became the capital of the new Bezirk Potsdam until 1990. Potsdam, south-west of Berlin, lay just outside West Berlin after

6308-451: Was a precarious privilege which might be curtailed or abolished according to the will of the lord. Reflecting the complex constitutional set-up of the Holy Roman Empire, a third category, composed of semi-autonomous cities that belonged to neither of those two types, is distinguished by some historians. These were cities whose size and economic strength was sufficient to sustain a substantial independence from surrounding territorial lords for

6391-471: Was an urban governorate and enclave within the governorate of Potsdam between 1815 and 1822, then it merged as urban district into the governorate only to be disentangled again from Potsdam governorate in 1875, becoming a distinct province-like entity on 1 April 1881). Towards the north west the governorate was bounded by the rivers Elbe and the Havel, and on the north east by the Oder . The south eastern boundary

6474-474: Was held on 9 June 2024, and the results were as follows: The Landtag Brandenburg , the parliament of the state of Brandenburg is in Potsdam. It has been housed in the Potsdam City Palace since 2014. Potsdam is twinned with: Potsdam, included in the fare zone "C" ( Tarifbereich C ) of Berlin 's public transport area and fare zones A and B of its own public transport area, is served by

6557-429: Was local and not transferable to another city. The burghers were usually the lowest social group to have political power and privilege within the Holy Roman Empire. Below them was the disenfranchised urban population, maybe half of the total in many cities, the so-called "residents" ( Beisassen ) or "guests": smaller artisans, craftsmen, street venders, day laborers, servants and the poor, and those whose residence in

6640-588: Was probably founded after the 7th century as a settlement of the Hevelli tribe centred on a castle. It was first mentioned in a document in 993 as Poztupimi , when Emperor Otto III gifted the territory to the Quedlinburg Abbey , then led by his aunt Matilda . By 1317, it was mentioned as a small town. It gained its town charter in 1345. In 1573, it was still a small market town of 2,000 inhabitants. Potsdam lost nearly half of its population due to

6723-480: Was subordinate only to the Holy Roman Emperor , as opposed to a territorial city or town ( Landstadt ), which was subordinate to a territorial prince  – be it an ecclesiastical lord ( prince-bishop , prince-abbot ), or a secular prince ( duke ( Herzog ), margrave , count ( Graf ), etc.). The evolution of some German cities into self-ruling constitutional entities of

6806-848: Was the scene of the Potsdam Conference from 17 July to 2 August 1945, at which the victorious Allied leaders Harry S. Truman , Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin met to decide the future of Germany and postwar Europe in general. The conference ended with the Potsdam Agreement and the Potsdam Declaration . The government of East Germany (formally known as the German Democratic Republic (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik , DDR)) tried to remove symbols of "Prussian militarism ". Many historic buildings, some of them badly damaged in

6889-403: Was to the neighbouring governorate of Frankfurt (Oder). About 500,000 inhabitants lived in the Potsdam governorate, which covered an area of about 20,700 square kilometres (7,992 sq mi), divided into thirteen rural districts , partially named after their capitals: The traditional towns in the governorate were small, however, in the course of the industrial labour migration some reached

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