Recognition and Responsibility

12 December 2025: 35 years of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin”

The City of Potsdam and the Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation Berlin‑Brandenburg (SPSG) jointly commemorate the 35th anniversary of the inscription of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The nomination of the Potsdam palaces and gardens for inclusion on the World Heritage List was submitted by the GDR on 29 September 1989. On 14 June 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany nominated the Havelland landscape with the palace and garden ensembles in Glienicke as well as Peacock Island. On 12 December 1990, just two months after the reunification of the two German states, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee inscribed the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin on the World Heritage List as Site No. 532 C (Cultural Property) at its meeting in Banff, Canada.

Shared responsibility

Compared to the condition of the palaces and parks in 1990, enormous progress has been made over the past three and a half decades. The cultural landscape, which had been brutally fragmented by border installations during the Cold War, was able to be reconnected and restored. This would not have been possible without the continued financial support of the states of Brandenburg and Berlin and the German federal government. The City of Potsdam, private owners, numerous initiatives and donations have also contributed significantly to improving the condition of the buildings and gardens.

“Ensuring that this progress is sustained makes continuous care and preservation increasingly important,” says Prof. Dr Christoph Martin Vogtherr, General Director of SPSG. “World Heritage Sites are landmarks that represent a city, a region, a country, a cultural or natural landscape. They testify to what defines our world. That is why Potsdam needs its palaces and gardens – and the palaces and gardens need Potsdam – to preserve this heritage for future generations. We must work together to prevent damage, whether caused by negligence, wilful destruction or the effects of climate change, which now pose a serious threat to the World Heritage parks. Protecting this heritage remains a challenge – but a highly rewarding one for us all.”

Potsdam’s Mayor, Noosha Aubel, adds: “Being home to large parts of a UNESCO World Heritage Site is a great privilege for Potsdam and contributes enormously to our quality of life. From a tourism perspective, the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin place us in the same league as the Pyramids of Giza, the Palace of Versailles or the Great Wall of China. At the same time, the UNESCO World Heritage designation provides a binding framework for our urban development. Dealing responsibly with this heritage is therefore an obligation we owe not only to the people of Potsdam, but also at national and international level.”

Culture as an economic factor

A study conducted this year by the University of Potsdam on behalf of the Potsdam Chamber of Commerce and Industry shows that the palaces and parks are significant economic drivers for the region. Every euro invested by the public sector in the work of SPSG generates an average of €5.54 in spending on gastronomy, accommodation, retail and regional services. This applies not only to World Heritage palaces such as Sanssouci or the New Palace, but also to Rheinsberg and Paretz, whose economic impact was likewise examined in the study.

A walkable landscape painting

What is inscribed on the World Heritage List must be unique and authentic. In the case of the Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin, it was the ensemble character that proved decisive. Over three centuries, a harmonious Gesamtkunstwerk of palaces and gardens was created along the banks of the River Havel, carefully integrated into the surrounding landscape. To this day, avenues and sightlines – some stretching for kilometres – connect the key architectural landmarks, forming deliberately composed sequences that resemble vast, walkable “landscape paintings”. This synthesis of planned urban development, architecture, garden art and designed landscape is unique worldwide.

The World Heritage Site was extended again in 1992 and 1999. Today, covering a total area of 2,064 hectares, it is one of the largest in Germany. UNESCO recognition also entails an obligation to preserve this heritage. Those who accept it must be aware that alterations or adaptations may result in irreversible loss. Careful stewardship of the World Heritage Site is therefore a shared responsibility of SPSG, the City of Potsdam and the State of Berlin.

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention

The international Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by UNESCO in 1972. It is one of UNESCO’s most successful conventions: to date, 196 States Parties have ratified it, and 1,248 cultural and natural sites in 170 countries have been granted World Heritage status. Germany has been a State Party since 1976 and is currently home to 55 World Heritage Sites. UNESCO’s aim is not to leave the protection of cultural and natural heritage of “outstanding universal value” to individual states, but to make it a responsibility shared by all humankind.