Villa Henckel Garten- und Parkanlage

On the northeastern slope of Potsdam's Pfingstberg lies a park from the late nineteenth century: the Villa Henckel Garten- und Parkanlage. The banker Hermann Henckel built his tower villa here, and the Berlin garden director Gustav Meyer shaped the grounds together with Hermann Vollert. Villas along the Große Weinmeisterstraße, among them the Lepsius and Schlieffen houses, belonged to the same estate.

The property changed hands several times. Prince Carl of Prussia acquired it in the late nineteenth century, and the Prussian state took over in the early twentieth. After the Second World War, with Soviet troops stationed on the grounds, the park fell into decay. Only after German reunification did part of it pass to the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg. Restoration work began in the early 2000s. It brought original pathways, retaining walls, water basins and a grotto back to light.

Heritage law protects the park as a garden monument. The whole property remains fenced, yet a large section stands open, so you can follow the restored paths for yourself. Beneath layers of fill the restorers made one more discovery, a waterfall that now runs again exactly as it originally did.