Editing Potsdam (section)

===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)]].