"Wannsee, Wannsee - Wann seh ich dich endlich wieder?" goes the text of a song currently in the German pop charts by the music group "Die Toten Hosen" evoking summer feelings and refreshing dives into this famous lake on the outskirts of Berlin. Famous for its water sports within the boundaries of the city of Berlin and also infamous for its connections in history.
I recently reread a book from one of my favourite authors Robert Harris : "Fatherland", a gripping novel and thriller set in the unusual backdrop of a Nazi-Germany in the 1950s and 60s assuming the Germans had won the war. The first murder victim is found on Schwanenwerder, a peninsula which protrudes into Wannsee.
And as this whole area around Potsdam with its many lakes, castles and beautiful spots is our favourite place to visit on weekends in Berlin, we decided to have a look what it was all about...
Schwanenwerder, "Swan's Ait", is a settlement of villas and mansions, built by wealthy industrialists at the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century to contrast the royal Pfaueninsel, "Peacocks' Island", close-by with its summer palaces of the Prussian kings. The residential very large plots reach down to the beaches of Wannsee with some old villas still left untouched and dilapidated, some renovated and in new ownership.
a boat house
Permanent exposition boards explain the history of Schwanenwerder, the villas and their inhabitants, and their roles in the history of Nazi-Germany.
Across the lake a large mansion can be seen: the House of the Wannsee-Conference, now a memorial and educational site, with an extensive exhibition about the Holocaust. It plays a central role in Robert Harris's book.
The gardens are beautiful and lead down to the water. Who would have thought that in such beautiful surroundings such atrocious plans could be devised and discussed?
the view across Wannsee from the garden
Boats on Wannsee in an artistic impression
"Abendstimmung"
