A TRIP ROUTE
INTERESTING FACTS
Few people know that the land of Mecklenburg, Brandenburg and Saxony today was inhabited by West Slavic tribes since the 6th century. Members of one of them, called the Sprewians, founded the wooden fortress Kopanica, which is now a district of Berlin called Köpenick. When Charlemagne's warriors reached these areas, it was inhabited by the Havelan tribe. In the first half of the 12th century, Prince Bolesław III the Wrymouth shifted the border of Polish influence to the vicinity of today's Berlin. At that time, there was a Slavic Duchy of Kopanice, which was a fief of Poland. Its ruler, Jaksa of Kopanica, fought fierce battles with the margrave of Northmarch, Albrecht The Bear for the Brenna (now Brandenburg) castle. However, at the end of the century, these areas fell within the boundaries of the Brandenburg Marchia created by the Bear and were subject to German colonization.INTERESTING STORIES
Poles also took part in the historic assault of Berlin. With Stalin's consent, soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division Tadeusz Kościuszko were transported to the area of direct fighting and assigned to Soviet armored units. From April 30, Polish soldiers took part in the fighting in the western part of Tiergarten, breaking through towards the Reichstag, in the area of the Polytechnic University and at the Brandenburg Gate. During the fighting, Poles lost 539 wounded and killed soldiers, which constituted 8% of the division's initial state. These events were traced back to Polish flags flying over the captured capital of the Third Reich. One of them hung on May 2 on the Victory Column in the Tiergarten Park. Another was hung on the Reichstag building, but this event is shrouded in mystery. Apparently there was a fight between the Poles, and the Red Army soldiers and to drop our flag. Another version tells about the shooting of a Polish soldier who hoisted the flag, but today we will probably not know the truth about those events. Another white and red flag fluttered on the Brandenburg Gate, next to the red banners of our allies, after the surrender of Berlin.IT IS WORTH SEEING
The Queen of Egypt, Nefertiti (Nefertiti), lived in the 14th century BC and was the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. During excavations in 1912, the German Egyptologist Ludwig Borchardt found a beautiful and very well-preserved bust of the queen in el-Amarna. When the artifacts were divided between Egypt and Germany, the German side offered the Egyptians a stone altar in return, which, however, turned out to be a fake. Currently, the head of Nefertiti is in the Neues Museum in Berlin. The queen's sculpture with a beautiful, long neck and pharaoh's headdress has become synonymous with the canon of beauty and is now one of the most recognizable symbols associated with ancient Egypt. In recent years, the Egyptian government has made unsuccessful attempts to recover a work it believes has been stolen.IT IS WORTH KNOWING
The Potsdam Conference was held at the turn of July and August 1945 at the Cecillienhof Palace. It was the last of three meetings of the leaders of the anti-Nazi coalition, the so-called the big three, where decisions were made about the shape of post-war Europe. The conference was attended by the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, US President Harry Truman, who replaced Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who died in April, and the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who was replaced from July 28 by the new Prime Minister of that country, Clement Attlee. Despite the fact that our country belonged to the Allied camp and fought with Germany from the first day of World War II, representatives of the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile did not take part in the deliberations. Western powers accepted the demands of Soviet Russia regarding the eastern borders of Poland, and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was kept silent so as not to irritate Stalin. As a result of these decisions, Poland was under the influence of the Soviet Union for over 44 years, which had a destructive impact on its society, culture, religion and economy.September 2016
Apparently, we visit the places closest to us in the last place. There is something to this saying, because I only traveled to our western neighbors after a few years of traveling. Berlin and Potsdam were the first to go because these Brandenburg cities have a lot to do with our history.
When planning a trip to Germany, I used the direct connection Krakow - Berlin. The almost 8-hour bus trip was a real nightmare, but what is not done to do some sightseeing. Fortunately, after reaching the place, I forgot about the hardships of the journey and immediately started exploring. There was little time, so much to see. I had some security concerns about refugees, but completely unnecessarily. In both Berlin and Potsdam, I saw only immigrants who had settled here for years, who posed no major threat.Berlin - city
Berlin is not only the Brandenburg Gate or the Berlin Wall. Although the monumental buildings from the times of the Kingdom of Prussia and Imperial Germany are the most striking in the city, in Nikolaiviertel, you can see the medieval roots of the city. However, it is impossible to run away from recent history. While visiting the Reichstag, Bebelplatz, Kaiser-Wilhelm Church or the East Side Gallery, I unknowingly recalled the bloody events of the 20th century German history.
Berlin - museums
During the trip I had two cool and rainy days. But there is nothing bad that would not turn out to be good. I used the unfavorable weather to visit museums, and I must admit that Berlin has nothing to be ashamed of. The impressive collection of paintings in the Gemaldegalerie, the famous Pergamonmuseum with ancient collections and the Neues Museum are just the most popular ones. I had a headache from watching it, and I especially remember the beautiful bust of the Egyptian queen Neferetete.
Potsdam - city
The capital of Brandenburg Potsdam , despite severe damage during World War II, is one of the most attractive tourist cities in Germany. Baroque and classicist palaces are truly impressive, while the city itself did not impress me much. Perhaps with the exception of the Russian colony of Alexandrovka, whose wooden houses, decorated with lace ornaments, look like from a fairy tale.
Potsdam - parks
To my surprise, the parks situated among picturesque lakes and moraine hills turned out to be the greatest attraction of Potsdam. The most I liked is the Sanssouci park and palace complex, entered on the Unesco World Heritage List. Beautiful baroque and classicist palaces and pavilions, shaded alleys, antique sculptures, fountains and pergolas can charm even the greatest dilettante.