Important gardeners – Cycling through green Potsdam

19,00 km
Start: Babelsberger Str. 5, Potsdam Central Station, 14473 Potsdam
Destination: Babelsberger Str. 5, Potsdam Central Station, 14473 Potsdam

By pedal, one can effortlessly explore Potsdam's cultural landscape and immerse oneself in a total work of art that Prussian architects and garden artists shaped over many years.
From Friendship Island, with its Karl Foerster show and teaching gardens, the tour leads along the banks of the Havel River through Babelsberg Park, laid out in the English style by Prince Pückler, to Klein Glienicke. Crossing the Glienicke Bridge, the "Bridge of Spies," you reach the thoughtfully designed New Garden. Here, several architectural gems await: the Marble Palace, the Orangery, the Dutch Settlements, the Gothic Library, and, of course, the historically significant Cecilienhof Palace. Not far away lies the garden complex of the Russian Colony Alexandrowka, located within the Hippodrome. Frederick William III and the Russian Tsar Alexander I were close friends. To express this friendship and honor the deceased Tsar, Frederick commissioned Peter Joseph Lenné to design the ensemble in 1826.
A garden of a completely different kind can be found in the Bornim district of Potsdam: the Karl Foerster Show Garden. The perennial plant breeder and garden philosopher Karl Foerster lived and worked there. In 1912, he began creating a display and experimental area for perennials in the garden of his house. Since 1981, it has been a protected historical monument known as the "Karl Foerster Memorial Site." The route then leads past the New Palace through the expansive Sanssouci Park, designed by Peter Joseph Lenné, back to the city center. The park is a complete work of art, uniting 250 years of the highest garden design with the works of the most accomplished architects and sculptors of its time.

Length: 19 km
Start finish: Potsdam Central Station

Arrival and departure to Potsdam Central Station:

Regional trains RE 1, RB 20, RB 21, RB 22, RB 23, RB 33
S-Bahn S7
various buses

CoursePotsdam Central Station, Friendship Island, Babelsberg Park, Klein Glienicke, Glienicke Bridge, Schwanenallee, New Garden, Alexandrowka, Karl Foerster Garden, Sanssouci Park, Potsdam Central Station

Directions: The first stop is Friendship Island. It lies picturesquely surrounded by the two arms of the Havel River, not far from the main train station. It became famous for the show and teaching gardens laid out in 1937 by Karl Foerster, featuring more than a thousand different perennials and around 250 varieties of irises in the water garden.

From Friendship Island, the route continues across the Humboldt Bridge, which spans the Tiefen See (Deep Lake), to Babelsberg Park. This park is distinguished by its unique vista of the historically significant Glienicke Bridge. The park, which extends over several hills, was begun by Peter Joseph Lenné. From 1843 onwards, Hermann Prince Pückler-Muskau continued the planning of the landscape garden based on Lenné's path system.

Klein-Glienicke is located very close by. This district of Potsdam, situated between Babelsberg Park and the Glienicke Bridge, is captivating with its picturesque Swiss-style houses, which are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Glienicke Bridge lies in the heart of the parkland largely designed by Lenné. From here, one can see Babelsberg Palace and Park, the Church of the Redeemer in Sacrow, and Glienicke Palace. The current bridge dates from 1907. During the GDR era, the border with West Berlin ran across the bridge. The Glienicke Bridge became famous during the Cold War for the exchange of Western and Eastern spies between the Soviet Union and the USA.

Between the Heiliger See (Holy Lake) and the Jungfernsee (Virgin Lake), below Pfingstberg hill, lies the New Garden (please note that the Ökonomieweg (Economic Path) is currently closed to cyclists; follow the detour: www.spsg.de/schloesser-gaerten/objekt/neuer-garten). Here you can admire several architectural gems: the Marble Palace, the Orangery, the Dutch Establishments, the Shingle House, and the Gothic Library. The 102-hectare park was laid out in 1787 by gardener Johann August Eyserbeck on behalf of Frederick William II.

Frederick William III and the Russian Tsar Alexander I were close friends. To express this friendship and honor the deceased Tsar, Frederick commissioned the construction of the Russian Colony Alexandrowka in 1826. The gardens of Alexandrowka were designed by Peter Joseph Lenné. Today, the ensemble is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A completely different kind of garden can be found in the Bornim district of Potsdam. Here lies the Karl Foerster Show Garden. The perennial plant breeder and garden philosopher Karl Foerster (1874-1970) lived and worked here. In 1912, he began creating a display and experimental area for perennials in the garden of his house. Since 1981, it has been a listed historical monument, the "Karl Foerster Memorial Site."

Nowhere is Prussia's Baroque heritage more magnificent and romantic than in Sanssouci Park. The terraced garden there dates back to 1744. Under Frederick the Great's successors, the now-outdated Baroque garden was redesigned in the style of a landscape park and expanded by Frederick William IV to include structures such as Charlottenhof Palace, the Orangery, and the Roman Baths. The palaces and parks of Potsdam are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Possible combinations:

Panoramic bike tour – Discover historical vistas
Around Lake Templin – a bike ride into the unknown
Information trail “Attention Border: The restricted area of the GDR in Potsdam 1961 to 1989”

Things to see/know: