Looking for something to do Saturday afternoon, May 23?Come to Babelsberg to walk through the Villa Colony and discover its fascinating history.
Babelsberg Villa Colony walking tour on Sunday, May 23, 2026 at 2pm.
Many know that the US-president Harry Truman, British prime minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin met at Cecilienhof Palace for the Potsdam Conference in the summer of 1945. Less well known is where they stayed while they were there: the Babelsberg Villa Colony on the Griebnitzsee lake. Here stand the grand summer homes of the investors, bankers, and industrialists who made their fortunes during the "Founding Era" of the Second German Empire (1870's), when the colony was built. Later residents included prominent government officials, military officers, scientists and artists. Reknowed architects designed some of the villas here, including Alfred Grenander, Hermann Muthesius, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (including his first solo work). After the nearby Babelsberg film studio opened in 1917, some legendary film stars bought homes here as well. This golden age of the colony ended when the Nazis came to power. Over half of the residents were Jews. While some manged to flee Germany, most were deported and murdered. (Potsdam's central holding station for Jews was also located here.) High-ranking Nazis, including some notorious war criminals, then made the colony their home. Unknown to them, some of their neighbors were members of the military resistance to Hitler and others were helping Jews. (One couple here even hid Jews in their own home before helping them escape Germany). At the end of the Second World War, the colony was evacuated to make room for the Soviet, American and British delegations attending the Potsdam Conference. After discussing the fate of the world at Cecilienhof Palace, Truman, Churchill and Stalin hosted lavish banquets in their villas. (It's often claimed that Truman gave the order to drop the atom bomb from his villa, but is that true? Come and find out!) The post-war division of Germany, de facto sealed at the conference, transformed the colony into a kind of ghost town. None of the former residents were allowed to return. Since the colony was located right next to the Berlin Wall, only those considered as "reliable elements" were allowed to live here. Most of the villas were used by the Academy of State and Justice, the Babelsberg Film Academy, the Socialist Unity Party, the Ministry of State Security, as well as warehouses an elementary school and day-care centers. German reunification presented new opportunities and challenges to the colony, especially regarding property questions. Today it is once again an exclusive residential area, home to many wealthy people and a few famous one. The Babelsberg Villa Colony is a place of great historic significance, natural beauty and architectural grandeur. Come and see for yourself!
We begin punctually at 2 pm.
We need at least 10 people to commit to the tour to make it happen.
Date: May 23, 2026.
Time: 3pm.
Language: English
Cost: Pay whatever you think the tour was worth. And if you're not satisfied, pay nothing at all!
Meeting point: Entry to S-Bahnhof Griebnitzsee (Rudolf-Breitscheid-Straße 40, 14482 Potsdam).
End point: Bus stop "Potsdam, Schloss Babelsberg." (Bus 616).
Please contact me for further details, either here, on my website (berlin-potsdam.tours.com) or on WhatsApp (0177 2792126).
If you think you might like to come, please indicate your interest here. The number of participants is limited to 30 persons.
Event Venue
Geschwister-Scholl-Straße, 90, 14471, Geschwister-Scholl-Straße 90, 14471 Potsdam, Deutschland, Potsdam, Germany
Tickets
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