Predigerwitwenhaus

Predigerwitwenhaus stands in northern Potsdam city centre as a heritage-protected building with a long architectural and social history. Its origins reach back to Electress Dorothea and a residence for widows and orphans. The original foundation served families of Reformed preachers and school staff, linking the building to Potsdam’s religious and educational life. Moisture damage later led to rebuilding in classicist forms. Completed in 1827, the present structure features a nine-axis plaster façade, three storeys, and a gabled roof. Rustication marks the ground floor, while pilasters divide the upper storeys. A triangular pediment crowns the central risalit, preserving leaf ornaments and Frederick William’s insignia from the earlier building. A bust of the Great Elector occupies a round niche. Its design history includes Johann Gregor Memhardt, Carl Wilhelm Redtel, and advice from Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Daniel Ernst Jablonski also belonged to the building’s story as a theologian and academy co-founder. The house remained a widows’ residence until 2006. Predigerwitwenhaus connects Potsdam’s classicist architecture with the social history of its residents.