Looking back at the history of Prussia reveals many exciting stories about international politics, culture and high ideals. For centuries, Prussian kings played a key role in the events unfolding in Germany and Europe. The palace of Sanssouci still symbolises the grandeur and glory of the bygone superpower Prussia. Frederick the Great built his summer residence here in the quiet town of Potsdam, just a day's journey from his seat of government, Berlin.
When he was here he wanted to be without worries, or in French, the language of the educated at the time: sans souci. This palace and the others which were later built in the vicinity, together with the splendid surrounding parklands, form Potsdam's main tourist attraction. But the Dutch quarter, commissioned by Frederick William I and built by a Dutch architect on the marshes outside the city, is also worth a visit. In 1812 Frederick William III built the Russian blockhouse colony Alexandrovka in commemoration of his friend, the Russian Tsar Alexander.
Today, the blockhouses are still inhabited by direct descendants of the Russian soldiers whom the king originally put up there. A visit to the rustic monastery cellars, the "Klosterkeller", in the evening not only promises many culinary delights, it is also highly informative in terms of German history, because this is where the Long Fellows, Frederick William I's tall soldiers, sat together discussing confidential royal affairs.