October 3rd is germanys unity day and its a National Holiday here in germany the country has now been reunifying for 30 days years to mark the occasion there is a lot of celebrating going on in potsdam capital of the state a friend and berg. 2 comes down city center has been turned into an open air exhibition each of the 16 german states is showcased in a glass cube like this one. But central to the exhibition is of course the history of germanys division and eventually coming together as one unified nation. That fateful event in 1990 also paved the way for potsdam to recover some of its historical splendor. In the 30 years since germanys ringing of a case in pot. Has and a bit quite the contrary actually the city center has been completely revamped and the pression palaces and parks have received a thorough beauty treatment most importantly though the days of walls and border fences separating ponce them from neighboring berlin are long gone. Well spend part of the day strolling around pots downs famous palaces parks and gardens. Well also take a tour of cecilia palace where the momentous potsdam conference took place. And as always well share our holiday video with you this time from a yorker. For over 2 centuries potsdam was the favorite residence of prussian kings evidence of that can still be seen in the city scape today. The mock or old Market Square with its off a list in the Historical Center of the city over the past 30 years the square has been reconstructed to resemble its former state. St Nicholas Church is one of the few buildings around here that didnt have to be entirely rebuilt after the war. Ravaged influence standing in front of the st Nicholas Church behind. Them the church was designed by. An architect who did quite a lot of work in this area why it was destroyed in the 2nd world war well that is to say the doing was destroyed it was rebuilt in the 1980 s. On the occasion of shingles 200th birthday then after reunification the church was renovated staircase which we stored so people can now go out onto the roof you have a very nice view from up there. For example you can get a good look at the Old City Hall another of the original buildings that was. Refurbished in 2010 and now houses the museum of the citys history. The rest of the neighborhood also changed a lot over the past 30 years. Is in here to us and here we see the museum the new arts museum. It looks as if it or an old Historical Building but its actually a new construction. Its modeled on the its about bahamian room. Well this is how it looked in the past the entire length of homebush castle was lined with historic palace facades 3 have been rebuilt but 2 as you can clearly see were replaced by modern buildings we hear on the banks of the hafele so right behind this beautiful building is the river. Thats where the best hotels and restaurants used to stand they all had terraces facing the water it looked a little bit like venice. Theres a lot of italianate architecture in potsdam. My head it probably would have been easier to build something contemporary on the square out wide of the city are in for historic reconstruction. If there was a time when the half constructed shell of the huns auto artist a tear a big hulking block that was a prestige project for east germany and then in the wall fell the political situation changed and eventually a decision was made to tear it down so then the space was empty and i opened and there were plans to reconstruct potsdam city palace that is the states parliament. Them and then someone thought hey weve got a great ensemble here with the Old City Hall innocent nicholass church lets construct a state parliament in the historic style. Phone. In 2014 the new version of part stems the majestic city fallis was ready. But columns are old bullet holes from the 2nd world war still clearly visible bits of the old city palace were integrated into the new one and over 100 places reconstruction must have been very expensive where did the money come from heaven im. Really weve got public funding of course but there were also donations from private parties wealthy people sponsors and patrons. And parts they were citizens of potsdam and people whod come to potsdam unfold in love with the city or. The historic facade of the state parliament for instance was paid by one man it cost 20000000 your anus of course. And part. Classic skyline its not finished yet a number of new Old Buildings are being planned one reason potsdam was such a favorite of prussian royalty was its location in the midst of a lush landscape surrounded by rivers and lakes. The beautiful palaces gardens and castles they built earned konstam the nickname burstein of the north the belvedere for instance wasnt a president ial palace it was built for the sole purpose of providing an outlook. From up here you can get a great view over the landscape the royals of your left so much. During the cold war this entire landscape was fragmented by militarized zones and fortified border separating east and west and 998 though the palaces and parks of pots that were reunited with those in berlin on the other side of the river hospital and in that same year unesco declared the ensemble to be the 1st all german World Heritage site. There are 16 palaces in. The best known and most popular is some of. It was also the favorite of its builder prussian King Frederick the great. The rococo palace has only 12 rooms frederick called it his vineyard cottage with a hint of russian understatement. Frederick spent his winters in pots palace and his summers here where he could be without a care. In french. Far grander was the new palace frederick had built slowly for a show to receive state guests nearly all the monarchs of europe pass through here. It seems as if every prussian keen fulfilled his dream of having a palace built here. Frederick william the 4th added a touch of eataly to the park with his oratory palace. It was designed to house the tropical plants in the gardens collection oranges and palm trees its the largest palace in civil suits. None of these palaces get lost among the trees avenues and sightlines direct to the masterpieces of architecture the chinese house for instance and in the distance on people kyle and in the river half full a small sum a palace what looks like a fairy tale castle is merely a wooden imitation a royal love nest built by Frederick William the 2nd for his mistress d. Over on the berlin side of the river is in a tally in style of yellow with a view of the water again a care palace. Prince karl of prussia and his wife lived here though relatively modest in size the best talent of the day were commissioned to design the palace and the surrounding park architect cult friedrich shingle and gardener and Landscape ArchitectPeter Josefa Lenape it was the artistic collaboration of these 2 men that gave the palaces parks and gardens of potsdam and that distinctive character. A romantic palace prime location but unfortunately not 1st sale the marble palace is also part of the unesco World Heritage ensemble. The east German Government repurposed the damaged palace as an army museum this courtyard was used as exhibition ground for missiles and other military apparatus the border wall was not far from here suskind has been following the developments of pop stems palaces since the 1970 s. Shes an art historian and helped pave the way towards acquiring the prestigious World Heritage status and see that were seeing plenty of people taking walks riding their bikes was this area as accessible in the days of east germany too right. Yeah as it does well yes for the most part it was accessible all 3 garden areas in most of the palaces as well. As this was a tourist highlight of us germany a Major Cultural Institution alongside the museums in berlin and kristens. Because of one other words it made for a pretty backdrop but how did east germany handle the pressure on legacy in general albert such as you put it into our off into the good it changed over time in east germany. After world war 2 the general tendency was outwith the old to create some distance to the past and that was probably true elsewhere too not just in need but here in history was regarded as a creature assessments of the german empire even nonsystem and that transfused is unacceptable. For this. Is cause of isis or dies forgetting does not tsunamis and so this was in. Order changed over Time Starting in the 1960 s. Or 1970 s. That the latest restoration on the state palaces and gardens began and the funds needed to do that began to flow up to along the flows and on all. That there are a lot has changed around here in the past 30 years which was the 1st task taken up after unification. Its a funny thing as an art historian i was the custody and of the sculpture collection. The 1st thing my restoration colleagues did after the Monetary Union in some 1998 was to travel to corolla and purchase model so that at long last they could use it for restoration work and perhaps some copies. And then the gardeners and garden historians quickly set to work repairing the damage the berlin wall had inflicted on spec park and the new garden. And pop bottles back out of the more you got. To decide to the gardens had to be restored to their former glory that was a top priority getting the after news landscape distance back to the way theyve been in the 18th and 19th centuries which is what eventually led to the ensemble being added to unescos world Cultural Heritage list. Just. Got going up at imax now were at a heritage that is in 1990 that happened quite fast had the wave been paved before the fall of the wall. Or go on to whatever light in the house is going to restimulate in late 1989 both west berlin and potsdam in other words east germany initiated the process of getting the respective sides of the ensemble to the world Cultural Heritage listed by the time it actually came to pass reunification had already happened and it became one complete Cultural Landscape as well as i because im too quick to and im sure. The history culture and scenery and potsdam attract tourists from around the globe typically the city welcomes over a 1000000 visitors a year but potsdam isnt just popular with travelers its also one of the few eastern german cities thats growing in size in 199140000 people lived here today its close to 100. Eightys pals and. A number of celebrities have bought property here since reunification the reasons are obvious where else can you live smack in the middle of a city and at the same time be surrounded by water and nature as far as the eye can see. From potsdam well now hop on over to the n. C. And see more precisely to the island of santorini normally the greek island is a popular Tourist Destination but the corona virus has left things rather quiet about as lives on centering me and wants to show us his home region and another edition of our segment a local. Time going to show you out on some good evening welcome to my in the. Sun or so for the conic cross and shape violence in the south and. Normally would complain about over tourism but this year because of the fun of it is that it is empty. So this is one of remorse for most pictures on the sidelines of the famous group dont feel so funny with the killing of a buck around the dome symbolizes the sky basically the void of the sky and the. Circling of out of them the number of churches we have this many more that there will be. So some sort of a house for the village i have a comment besides the better for people to give focus more of their religious or try. To merge personal favorites religious not to make on the whole. Rid of the moment remember you. This is supposed to be nice to see so but the beaches are empty. Something even just one block for those on the block with conley gosh others also wanting more be interesting but this red thread because i dont all sites. That create a silence copy and the commercial center more money on these places would be open and touching of a very busy but given the circumstances most of them are closed and therefore put on that definitely not basic. Level criticism of the whole marketplace but also a lot of other things because i think. This is here and one of the most iconic supplements off the islands with one of the more stuff to graft sunsets and the war nor money behind me over 3000 people of god therefore watching the sunset this fewer people you give us more to feel off the 1980s. Thanks for joining. Us. Back at potsdam i have arrived at the plains that will forever receive special mention in 20th century history books cecelia. Because there werent any suitable locations available in devastated berlin at the end of the war in 1945 the allies met here and pottstown to establish a new world order. The remstar on the lawn was planted by soviet soldiers for this is a story committing the potsdam conference. Until the end of 2020 visitors can learn more about these defining days in the summer of 45. 00 in a special exhibition. It was in this very room that the u. S. The u. K. And the sylvia union negotiated the future of postwar germany and europe. And the decisions made during the pon stem conference sorted things out at the end of the war on the other it also marked the beginning of the cold war a conflict that saw an iron curtain descend on the continent which eventually led to the construction of the wall. The pottstown conference makes a sealion whole palace famous the world around but its history is remarkable way beyond those 16 days and 945. 00 until that year it served as the residence to the last german crown prince and Princes William and seth only it was also the last palace the pression rulers had built in pottstown. Roses. In. Every shade. Crown princess cecilia was educated. Graceful and beautiful. Feel no down g. L. Shown many other women and she quickly became a style icon were favored pompadour hairstyle was often copied from fear and fall in the very heart of burnt overseas the palace with the royal couple took up residence and 917. Cecilia study was photographed for an art magazine at the time the princess was the mother of 6 children. Or mother to me it is fenced. This window looks out on the princes garden and as the name suggests thats where the children played and cecilia could watch them play from her desk here at this ors youre looking up at the end. Its easy to stumble over the threshold of the doorway leading into the next room just like on board the ship along with roses cecilia love the city here in what was the silliest cabin on the furnishings original this fence of top 30 for this window actually comes from its an authentic portal with a sliding glass pane. The royal couples private chambers were on the upper floor after painstaking restoration pink roses once again graced the rooms. And guided ters Catarina Bergman shares the history of hotel celia home with visitors. In the 1960 s. Those who could afford it could spend the night here. Under the noise allowance and the carpets were different of course. The ashtrays are quite nice back then people could still smell in the conferences. Unfortunately the view from this room wasnt so attractive. The border wall ran right along the shoreline. That was way dans patrolled. 145. Fled from the red armys approach the soviet occupiers exposed to the palace as a sunni and william never returned. The postwar parts time conference needs to see inhofe world famous. Today after some some see its the most visited palace in parts to. The clinic a bridge a symbol of German Division and reunification. This bridge connects berlin and brandenburg the border between the states goes right through it potsdam side of the bridge is painted in a light shade of green berlin science is slightly darker this line right here is where potsdam and with it east germany and it and this right here was already west berlin. During the cold war the bridge was off limits to civilians and yet it was known the world over as the bridge of spies it was used as a point of exchange of undercover agents between the us and the soviet union. With the border now gone the hospital has become quite lively today its a popular spot for boating and other watersports. Do you have any idea what the germans Favorite Island is the belle erik island of mind your its in the mediterranean and belongs to spain my colleague elizabeth york went there for the 1st time in the summer and from the looks of it it wont be her last heres the email she sent us. I return to where i started because i cant leave pottstown without a souvenir. Here snappy instagram or get the chance to stage their own daring escape from the coverage. By memories from pop sound those will go straight into my top secret file it was truly remarkable to see what has become of pots and these past decades and will certainly be interesting to keep tabs on the citys evolution i hope you enjoyed our journey today thanks for joining me once more and ill see you next time somewhere in germany. The be. The be. Coming. To. The be. Going to. Bust up peaceful revolution alabama. Our strong about german reunification too close for talks between the 2 german states in the form occupying power. Behind the scenes the cold war continues how close to the unification come to failing. In 15 minutes on t w. I have 2 sides of the come together in the us former interim in the case. In pop culture. Music. And last but not. 30 years of journey. From the 1st book to the people. Who wrote. The 90 minutes on d w. Imagine hoe many forces hold loves us right out in the muck right now Climate Change me Different Office story the faces watched less the way from just one week. How much worse can really get. We still have time to act im going. To accept. That subscribes like this. Every 2 seconds a person is forced to flee their home. The consequences been disastrous our documentary series displaced depicts traumatic humanitarian crises from around the world. Fuck it then we dont have time to think i didnt go to university to kill people i fully expected that a i mean a pain. People feel for their lives and their future so they seek refuge abroad but what will become of course to stay behind and simply up a little my husband went to peru because of the crisis that i wonder if he hadnt gone there we would have died of hunger and when one of them. Displayed starts october 16th mondoubleau. This is. From berlin donald trump sends a message of thanks to well wishers as he begins treatment for covert 19. The u. S. President has been transferred to a Military Hospital after showing symptoms of the disease also coming up germany marks