Babelsberg ParkA Landscape Park with Rich Vistas

Babelsberg palace park is picturesquely located on the banks of the Havel River, which grants visitors spectacular views of Glienicke Bridge and the palace grounds of Glienicke Park directly across the water. The creation of the grounds began in 1833, commissioned by Crown Prince William (later Emperor William I) and his wife Augusta, and owes its design to two important landscape architects: Peter Joseph Lenné and Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau.

Richly decorated garden terraces enhance the surroundings of the neo-Gothic Babelsberg Palace, which is adjoined by a pleasure ground with ornamental shrubs, flower gardens and fountains. New vistas of the Havel River landscape and the silhouette of the city of Potsdam open up along the numerous footpaths in the park. An artificial water system irrigates the plants and artificial lakes, waterfalls and streams in the park.

Babelsberg‘s diverse monuments are not just charming sights to be enjoyed while strolling taking a stroll through the park. They also focus on William‘s military successes as a Prussian prince, king and emperor. Thus, the victory column, a sign of Prussia‘s victorious hegemony, was erected on the highest point of the Babelsberg grounds. From this spot, the emperor and his German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, may have enjoyed the fascinating panorama across the old royal seat of Potsdam. In addition to its high artistic importance in terms of garden design, these monuments also distinguish Babelsberg Park as a commemorative landscape for the time between the years of revolution in 1848–49 and the unification of Germany into one nation in 1871.

Located at the heart of what has become a UNESCO World Heritage site, the park has been recognized as an historic garden since the 1960s. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the area around the northern bank, which had been heavily damaged by border fortifications, could be restored. Babelsberg Palace is currently undergoing major renovations.

Babelsberg Park is a world-renowned example of garden design. Please help us to maintain the park as a place of culture and recreation.