The Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin
This UNESCO Site is a list of numerous palaces and royal estates of the Prussian Empire. You can see some within the city-limits of Berlin or make a fabulous day trip to Potsdam to see some of the most impressive palaces I’ve ever seen! Frederick the Great commissioned the building of Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam in the eighteenth century, along with the Orangery and the Portrait Gallery. In addition to these gorgeous works of architecture the grounds are so expansive are beautiful. We were there in the cold of winter so there was much left to be desired from the natural landscape but I certainly want to return when the weather is warmer (much, much warmer!).
Read more: Day Trip from Berlin: Potsdam
Museum Island
It’s weird to think that a museum is physically a UNESCO Site but when you learn that the opening of the Altes Museum in 1830 made art accessible to the general public for the first time you and understand the importance of this site. Museum Island is literally the world’s first museum, and the concept certainly took off from there! Today there are many museums to visit on Museum Island, my favorites being the Bode Museum & Pergamon Museum.
Read more: Top 8 Berlin Museums
Berlin Modernism Housing Estates
I did not take the time to hunt down this UNESCO Site, mostly because I didn’t really have an interest in it (shocker I know!) and we were not really close to any of the buildings included. However, this UNESCO Site represents apartments built between 1919 and 1934 in which the architects specifically built them to be filled with bright light, basic hygienic facilities, and fresh air. Again, this sounds like a total no brainer but turn of the century middle-income housing accommodations were appalling. So be thankful to this UNESCO Site that concrete jungle kids don’t get rickets anymore!
JMF
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