Urban planning in Saxony and Brandenburg after the fall of the Wall using the example of Bautzen and Potsdam

Lecture with the city guide Thomas Lukow

While the city of Bautzen, unlike Potsdam, was not so badly destroyed in the Second World War, both experienced the decay of their historic city centers in the decades that followed.

Bautzen was already an important Hanseatic city in the early Middle Ages, expanded by the Via Regia that ran through it and later by Bohemian Baroque buildings. It was also important as the center of the League of Six Towns. On the other hand, Bautzen also has to live with the stigma of being a prison town. This is due to the construction of the royal prison in 1903 and the court prison in the city center, which served as a political prison during the Nazi era, then as a prison of the Soviet secret service NKVD and then as a special prison of the Ministry of State Security.

Potsdam, on the other hand, did not flourish until the 17th century, when the Hohenzollerns appointed it the second Prussian royal seat. Baroque and classicist streets still bear witness to this today. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, both cities were beautifully restored at great expense. In Potsdam, you can also admire the lovingly restored Russian colony on the outskirts of the city or the Dutch quarter in the center. The palaces and gardens in and around Potsdam should not be forgotten either. In his multimedia lecture, the speaker will explain how urban planning was able to balance the preservation of the historical substance with the demands of the modern city.

• Children and young people free


• Tickets are available from the tourist information offices


• at www.kaiserbaeder-auf-usedom.de


• Remaining tickets at the box office


• Admission: 13:30


• Admission adults: 10,00 €