Cecilienhof Palace: the Potsdam Conference hall (closed for renovation)

Updated on October 5, 2026

Cecilienhof Palace (Schloss Cecilienhof), in Potsdam's New Garden (Neuer Garten), is the site of the Potsdam Conference: from 17 July to 2 August 1945, Truman, Churchill (replaced midway by Attlee) and Stalin met here to settle the post-war order in Europe. Built from 1913 to 1917 in the style of an English country house, it was the last palace built by the Hohenzollerns, for Crown Prince Wilhelm and his wife Cecilie. **Please note: the palace has been closed to visitors since 1 November 2024**, for renovation work under the Prussian palaces Masterplan. The Prussian Palaces and Gardens Foundation (SPSG) has announced no firm reopening date; the work was planned to run until the end of 2028. Check the opening status on spsg.de before you come. In the meantime the New Garden remains open, and the SPSG offers online virtual tours with Google Arts & Culture. To fill a day in Potsdam, see Sanssouci Palace, the New Palace and our guide to Potsdam from Berlin.

Highlights

The palace seen from outside

Its Tudor-manor look, with tiled roofs, tall decorated chimneys and half-timbering, is a surprise in Potsdam. It can be admired from the park, even during the works.

The conference hall

The great reception room, where the three Allied leaders negotiated around a round table, and the offices where each delegation worked, were the heart of the visit. They are closed to the public during the works; they can be discovered online through the SPSG's virtual tours.

The New Garden

This landscape park, laid out from 1787, stretches along the Heiliger See. It is a UNESCO site with the other gardens of Potsdam, open to all, and can be explored on foot or by bike.

Practical info

Tips

The palace is closed for renovation: do not count on visiting it. The conference rooms, wheelchair accessible before the closure, were separate from the Crown Prince's private apartments on the first floor, which were not; when it reopens, the museum entrance is due to be moved so that it is accessible to all. Virtual tours and online exhibitions about the conference can be found on the Cecilienhof page of the SPSG website and on Google Arts & Culture. For information, the SPSG can be reached on +49 331 96 94-200 (Tuesday to Sunday) or at [email protected]. Back in Berlin, the story of 1945 continues at the Topography of Terror and along the Wall: see our route in the footsteps of the Berlin Wall.

How to get there

Im Neuen Garten 11, 14469 Potsdam. From Berlin Hauptbahnhof, allow about thirty minutes on the RE1 regional train or the S7 S-Bahn to Potsdam Hauptbahnhof, then tram 92 or bus 603 to the Schloss Cecilienhof stop (check vbb.de for timetables). Potsdam is in zone C: you need a Berlin ABC ticket (€5.00 single, valid for 120 minutes). Limited paid parking nearby, for cars only during the works.