Editing Potsdam (section)

==History==
===Pre- and early history===
[[File:Schenkungsurkunde Potsdam 993.jpg|thumb|left|Document from the [[Holy Roman Empire]] in 993 mentioning ''Poztupimi'']]
[[File:Potsdam Sanssouci 07-2017 img4.jpg|thumb|[[New Palace, Potsdam|New Palace]] today]]
[[File:Stadtschloss Potsdam Gemälde.jpg|thumb|right|[[City Palace, Potsdam|Stadtschloss Potsdam]] in 1773]]

The area around Potsdam shows signs of occupancy since the [[Bronze Age]] and was part of ''[[Magna Germania]]'' as described by [[Tacitus]]. After the [[Migration Period|great migrations]] of the Germanic peoples, [[Slav]]s moved in and Potsdam 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, Abbess of Quedlinburg|Matilda]].<ref name=kopish/> 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.

===Early modern era===
[[File:Voltaire-Baquoy.gif|thumb|right|[[Voltaire]] at the residence of [[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick II]] in Potsdam. Partial view of an engraving by [[Pierre Charles Baquoy]], after N. A. Monsiau]]

Potsdam lost nearly half of its population due to 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 [[Friedrich Wilhelm I of Brandenburg|Frederick William I]], [[prince-elector|Elector]] of [[Brandenburg-Prussia|Brandenburg]], the core of the powerful state that later became the [[Kingdom of Prussia]]. It also housed [[Prussia]]n [[barracks]].

[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 170-120, Potsdam, Garnisonkirche von der Breiten Brücke.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|left|The [[Garrison Church (Potsdam)|Garrison Church]], built in 1735 (Ca. 1900)]]
After the [[Edict of Potsdam]] in 1685, Potsdam became a centre of European immigration. Its religious freedom attracted people from [[France]] ([[Huguenot]]s), [[Russia]], 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 II of Prussia|Frederick the Great]]. One of these is the [[Sanssouci|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 the [[New Palace (Potsdam)|New Palace]] and the [[Orangery Palace|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)]].

===Governorate of Potsdam===
[[File:Stadt Potsdam 1852.jpg|thumb|right|Bond of Potsdam, issued 22 May 1852]]

Between 1815 and 1945, the city of Potsdam served as capital of the {{ill|Regierungsbezirk of Potsdam|de|Regierungsbezirk Potsdam|}} ({{langx|de|Regierungsbezirk Potsdam}}). The ''[[Regierungsbezirk]]'' encompassed the former districts of [[Uckermark]], the Mark of Priegnitz, and the greater part of the [[Kurmark|Middle March]]. It was situated between [[Mecklenburg]] and the [[Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)|Province of Pomerania]] on the north, and the [[Province of Saxony]] on the south and west (Berlin, with a small surrounding district, 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 was to the neighbouring governorate of Frankfurt (Oder). About 500,000 inhabitants lived in the Potsdam governorate, which covered an area of about {{convert|20700|km2|0|abbr=out}}, divided into thirteen rural [[Kreis in Prussia|districts]], partially named after their capitals:<ref name=Curtis-1839>Thomas Curtis (1839). ''The London encyclopaedia, or, Universal dictionary of science, art, literature, and practical mechanics, by the orig. ed. of the Encyclopaedia metropolitana'' Volume XVIII, [https://books.google.com/books?id=OEr68dC6RLEC&dq=%22Potsdam%22&pg=PA11 p. 11]</ref>

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|-
|Angermünde||Beeskow-Storkow (as of 1836)||East Havelland||East Prignitz
|-
|Jüterbog-Luckenwalde||Lower Barnim||Prenzlau||Ruppin
|-
|Teltow (as of 1836)||Teltow-Storkow (until 1835)||Templin||Upper Barnim
|-
|colspan="1"|West Havelland||West Prignitz||Zauch-Belzig||
|}

The traditional towns in the governorate were small, however, in the course of the industrial labour migration some reached the rank of urban districts. The principal towns were [[Brandenburg an der Havel|Brandenburg upon Havel]], [[Köpenick]], Potsdam, [[Prenzlau]], [[Spandau]] and [[Neuruppin|Ruppin]].<ref name=Curtis-1839/> 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 (locality)|Lichtenberg]], [[Neukölln (locality)|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 the elevation to rank of urban ''Bezirk'' or affiliation with Potsdam governorate, respectively):

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|-
|Berlin (1822–1875)||[[Brandenburg an der Havel|Brandenburg/Havel]] (as of 1881)||[[Charlottenburg]] (1877–1920)||[[Eberswalde]] (as of 1911)
|-
|[[Lichtenberg (locality)|Lichtenberg]] (1908–1920)||[[Schöneberg]] (1899–1920)||[[Wilmersdorf|Deutsch-Wilmersdorf]] (1907–1920)||[[Neukölln (locality)|Rixdorf (Neukölln)]] (1899–1920)
|-
|Potsdam||[[Rathenow]] (as of 1925)||[[Spandau]] (1886–1920)||[[Wittenberge]] (as of 1922)
|}

===20th century===
[[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 of Germany|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 a [[Weimar Republic|Republic]] at the end of [[World War I]].

{{anchor|Allied air attacks}}After the Nazis [[Machtergreifung|seized power in 1933]], there was a ceremonial handshake between [[President of Germany (1919–1945)|President]] [[Paul von Hindenburg]] and the new [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] [[Adolf Hitler]] on 21 March 1933 in Potsdam's [[Garrison Church (Potsdam)|Garrison Church]] in what became known as the "[[Potsdam Day|Day of Potsdam]]". This symbolised a coalition of the military (''[[Reichswehr]]'') and [[Nazism]]. Potsdam was severely damaged by [[Strategic bombing during World War II|Allied bombing raids]] during [[World War II]].

[[File:L to R, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President Harry S. Truman, and Soviet leader Josef Stalin in the... - NARA - 198958.jpg|thumb|left|[[Potsdam Conference]] in 1945 with [[Winston Churchill]], [[Harry S. Truman]] and [[Joseph Stalin]]]]

The [[Cecilienhof|Cecilienhof Palace]] was the scene of the [[Potsdam Conference]] from 17 July to 2 August 1945, at which the victorious [[Allies of World War II|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]].

[[File:Glienicker Brücke2.JPG|thumb|The [[Glienicke Bridge]], used for exchanging spies during the Cold War]]
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 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 [[Subdivisions of East Germany|East German administrative districts]] known as ''Bezirke''. Potsdam became the capital of the new ''[[Potsdam (Bezirk)|Bezirk Potsdam]]'' until 1990.

Potsdam, south-west of Berlin, lay just outside [[West Berlin]] after 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 [[spy|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 the original appearance of the city, including the [[Stadtschloss, Potsdam|Potsdam City Palace]] and the [[Garrison Church (Potsdam)|Garrison Church]].