To mark the occasion there is a lot of celebrating going on in potsdam capital of the state of brandenburg. 6 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 eventual coming together as one unified nation. That fateful event in 990. 00 also paved the way for potsdam to recover some of its historical splendor. In the 30 years since germanys reunification potsdam has and aids a bit quite the contrary actually the city center has been completely agree they. And the pression palaces and parks have received a thorough beauty treatment most importantly though the days of walls and border fences separating potsdam from neighboring berlin are long gone. Well spent part of the days strolling around parks down the famous palaces parks and gardens. Well also take a tour of cecilia palettes where the momentous potsdam conference took place. And as always well share our holiday video with you this time from my 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 author 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. You have your spin was standing in front of the st Nicholas Church behind. Them the church was designed by confrontation 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 dome was destroyed it was rebuilt in the 1980 s. On the occasion of shingles 200th birthday then off to reunification the church was renovated staircase which we stored so people can now go out on to 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 it 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 Barberini the new arts museum it looks as if it or an old Historical Building but its actually a new construction. Its modeled on the theme in rome. This is how it looked in the past the entire length of homebush tassel 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 half hour thats a 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 pakistan that. Might have it probably would have been easier to build something contemporary on the square why didnt the city are going for historic reconstruction. If there was a time when the half constructed shall of the huns not o. T. R. Just a tear a big hulking block that was a pristine 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 open and there were plans to reconstruct potsdam city palace that is the states parliament. And then someone thought hey weve got a great ensemble here with the Old City Hall innocent nicholass church lets construct the state parliament in the historic style. Phone. In 2014 the new version of part fams majestic sydney phallus 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 medicare cannot. 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. Classic skyline is 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 burr side 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 borders 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. And there are 16 palaces in. The best known and most popular is some of. It was also the favorite of its builder kruschen King Frederick the great. The rococo palace has only 12 rooms frederick called it hes vineyard cottage with a hint of russian understatement. Frederick spent his winters in potsdam sushi palace and his summers here where he could be without a care. In french. Granda 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 russian keenly fulfilled his dream of having a palace built here. Frederick will in the 4th added a touch of eataly to the car with his oratory palace. It was designed to house the tropical plants in the gardens collection oranges fix and palm trees its the largest palace in some. None of these palaces get lost among the trees avenues and sidelines directs the eye to the masterpieces of architecture the chinese house for instance and the distance on Peacock Island in the river hafele a small sum of palace. What looks like a fairy tale council is merely a wooden imitation a royal loveliest built by Frederick William the 2nd for his mistress. Over on the berlin side of the river isnt a telly in style villa with a view of the water greenacre palace. Prince carlos 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 culture. And gardener and Landscape Architect peter youll see flynn name 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 all sambal. 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 nikka has been following the developments of pop stems palaces since the 970. 00 shes an art historian and helped pave the way towards acquiring the pristine just World Heritage status everything that were seeing plenty of people taking walks riding their bikes was this area as accessible in the days of east germany to yeah as it does for us for the most part it was accessible all 3 garden areas and most of the palaces as well. As this was a tourist highlight of east germany. A Major Cultural Institution another side to museums in berlin interest and. Those kinds of in other words it made for a pretty backdrop but how did east germany handle the pressure in legacy in general its us now go. Into the could 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 me but here in history was regarded as a pretty decisive to the german empire even nonsystem and that transfused is an acceptable. As for this kaiser style the skies of isis or their eyes forgetting does not tsunamis and so this was in the 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 tile on the floors 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 end 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 us back park and the new garden. Popped off its back and everyone got that sort of time to decide to the gardens had to be restored to their former glory it was a top priority getting the after news landscape vistas back to the way theyd been in the 18th and 19th centuries which is what eventually led to the ensemble being added to unescos world Cultural Heritage list. Just. The thing about 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 feeling our god now whatever light in the house is going to resting late in late 1909 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 list by the time it actually came to pass reunification had already happened and it became one complete Cultural Landscape was i because im to quit when im sure of. The history culture and scenery in potsdam attract tourists from around the globe typically the city welcomes over a 1000000 visitors a year but potsdam isnt just popular with travellers 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 meet a local. Pub. Got on some good evening welcome to my in the. Sun or savoy conic cross on shape violence in the south and. Normally would complain of all the over tourism but this year because they admitted that it has anything. So this is one of the more famous pictures from the sidelines the famous blue dome and feel stuff i mean with it when it came out of. The dome symbolizes the sky basically the void of the sky and the. Support of the harbor the number of churches we have this morning that there will be. So sometime in housefull 2 villages i do comment besides the feeblest ones who give birth to smaller villages are trying. To murder people its religious not to make on the whole to be divorce. Rate at the moment the number you. This is supposed to be nice to see so but the beaches are empty at. Something even just one block because of the block one comma gosh but theres also one more beach but this right thread because im tight on all sides. Here they stand and scrap with art and the commercial center normally when these places would be open and actually a very very busy but given the circumstances most of them are closed and therefore poem that definitely not miss it. Up ok this is one of the hallmarks of 1st full support of the brotherhood because it. Sort of this is here and one of the more spike on except amounts off the island with one of the more stuff to graft sunsets and the war of to normandy behind me over 3000 people would gather for watching the sunset this fewer people will give us more to feed off the 1980s. Thanks for joining. Us. I have arrived at a place that will forever receive special mention in 20th century history books cecilia and whole thousands. Because there werent any suitable locations available in devastated berlin at the end of the war in 1940 finds 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 meeting 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 pont stem conference sorted things out at the end of the war on the other and also marked the beginning of the cold war a conflict that saw an iron curtain descended on the continent which eventually led to the construction of the wall. The pottstown conference makes a sealion health 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 secondly it was also the last palace the pression rulers had built in pottstown. Tros is. In the. Every shade. Crown princess cecilia was educated. Graceful and beautiful. 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 a 917. Cecilia study was photographed for an art magazine at the time the princess was the mother of 6 children. Were murdered and 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 the stores. 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. And what was the silliest cabin on the furnishings original these fences down 34 this window actually comes from its an authentic porthole with a sliding glass pane. The royal couples private chambers on the upper floor after painstaking restoration pink roses once again graced the rooms. And guided tours Catarina Bergman shares the history of Hotel Cecilia with visitors. In the 1960 s. Those who could afford it could spend the night here. Under the noise of lamps and the carpets were different of course. The ashtrays are quite nice back then people could still smell during the conferences. Unfortunately the view from this room wasnt so attractive. The border wall ran right along the shoreline. That was way guards patrolled. 145 the royal couple fled from the red armys approach the soviet occupiers exposed to palace this is. Never returned. The postwar parts time conference needs to see inhofe world famous. Today after sounds to see is 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 side 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 its the belle erik island of mind your car 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 potsdam without a souvenir. Here just now im happy instagram or as get the chance to stage their own daring escape on a league of bridge. Fine 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 i 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. Good. Good. Good Good Good Good good. Good good. Good. Good. While the. Cities around the world are facing unprecedented challenges Climate Change is making. It even hotter and more and more animals are moving. Its getting wild on. Enormous love and planet thinking up solutions tomorrow today. Coming up on d w. That daytime job in the village. But they have a sideline as you keep your stuff. Done ian and the cuts. The couple are a breath of fresh air geminis constant challenge. To friends comment. 30 minutes double. This some dope story a stubborn rice farmer from thailand. His problem tests. His credo no chemicals. And hes trying to. Step. Out. Of the street. The students are. Training successful. Talk to me. Starts october 1st. W n n so many push cold blooded us road out in the world right now Climate Change to break off a story. Basis much less when from just one week. How much worse can it really get. We still have time to what im going. To subscribe to the morning is like the. New year new no yes yes were going to do you and how the last years gentleman saw so that will bring you im going to mad cause i know youve never had. Surprise yourself with what is true is magical really what moves and what. We talked to people who followed her along the way admirers and critics alike now as the worlds most powerful woman shaping how they can join us the magical class that. This is d w news some things are out of stories Donald Trumps personal doctor sean conley says the u. S. President is doing well following his diagnosis with copd 19 other members of the team treating trump described the care hes receiving as state of the art treatment with him disappear at Walter Reed Medical Center is set to continue for another 5 days