Potsdam – Baroque dream factory
Mayors reveal their insider tips in the deutschland.de series “My city”. Part 8: Mayor Jann Jakobs talks about Potsdam.
Mr. Jakobs, what is special about your city?
Potsdam stands out because of its exceptional location in the midst of the Havelland landscape of parks and lakes. It is a place with a long history and the challenges of a growing city. Its diversity ranges from the Baroque to the modern. We are a state capital with a high quality of life and have twice been awarded the title “family-friendliest city”. Potsdam also includes media city Babelsberg, which has been Germany’s most important dream factory for 100 years – and is now also the number one in Europe.
What do you see when you look out of your office window?
I look down onto Villa Bier, into which Wolfgang Joop’s fashion label Wunderkind recently moved.
Where in your city do you most like to spend your time?
Most of all I like being at Neuer Markt. It is one of Europe’s best preserved Baroque squares with magnificent old town houses.
Which of your city’s personalities do you value most?
I would like to name three scientists who come from Potsdam or did a lot for the city: the physicist Hermann von Helmholtz and educational reformer Wilhelm von Humboldt, who were both born in Potsdam, and Professor Hasso Plattner, who founded the Hasso Plattner Institute and made a generous donation for the Potsdam City Palace.
What would you like to show tourists?
I recommend Mühlenberg-Belvedere to tourists. There you have an incredible panoramic view over the roofs of the city.
Where can visitors best get to know the people of your city?
If you visit the markets at Bassinplatz and Nauener Tor on Saturday morning you will gain wonderful insights into how this city ticks.
And where do you most like to spend your vacations?
I find it most beautiful on the French Atlantic coast.
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