Photos: Jochen Teufel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Jan Czeczotka, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Matti Blume, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo credits
Photos: Jochen Teufel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Jan Czeczotka, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Matti Blume, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Alexandrowka: a Russian colony in Prussia
Your local guide
Petra Lange
View profile
Highlights
- Wooden houses built for a Russian choir
- Carved detail from the 1820s
- An orchard plan nearly two centuries old
- A colony unlike the rest of Potsdam
- Russian history inside a Prussian town
About this tour
This session walks Alexandrowka, a small colony of carved wooden houses built in the 1820s for members of a Russian military choir. You see the houses' distinct style, unlike anything else built in Potsdam at the time. The walk finishes among the orchard gardens behind them, still laid out to the original plan.
We start with a short sound check at the colony's edge. I move slowly between the houses, since the carved detail rewards a closer look, and take questions about how the choir came to settle here. A short note on the colony's history follows by message.
This suits anyone interested in the more unusual corners of Prussian history. It also works well paired with the Dutch Quarter session for two very different foreign communities in one town.
Included
- Live video walk with a local guide
- Questions to your guide all the way
- A short list of places to visit later
Not included
- Internet connection
- Travel to the city
Itinerary
-
Welcome and sound check 5 min
The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Potsdam before heading out.
-
Alexandrowka's wooden houses 21 min
The camera moves along a row of carved wooden houses, and I explain how each one was built in the 1820s for a member of a Russian military choir.
-
The colony's orchard gardens 21 min
We walk between the garden plots behind the houses, and I point out how the layout still follows the original design drawn up nearly two centuries ago.
-
Your questions 9 min
Time to ask anything about Potsdam: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.
-
A short list to keep 4 min
Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: Spargel (white asparagus, spring specialty) and Babelsberg, worth a slower look.
Good to know
- A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
- Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
- Times are shown in Berlin time, so check the time where you are before you book.
- The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
- Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
- Sessions run in small groups, up to 8 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.
Questions about this tour
What will the session cover?
The guide walks through Potsdam, showing you Alexandrowka's wooden houses and The colony's orchard gardens live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.
What happens if my connection drops?
Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.
Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?
Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.
Do I need to know the history already?
No background needed. The guide explains everything as it comes up.
How it works
- You get one join link after booking.
- Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
- We meet on Google Meet; the link comes with your booking. I walk Potsdam live with my phone.
Times shown in Berlin time (CET)
Cancellation
Flexible
- Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
- Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
- If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
- Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Reviews appear here after travellers have completed this tour.
How reviews work
Only travellers who booked and paid through Locals Guide and whose tour took place can leave a review, within 60 days of the tour. Every review is marked "Verified booking". We check reviews before they appear and publish positive and negative ones alike; we remove only reviews that break our rules (insults, personal data, unrelated content). Guides cannot pay for, edit or hide reviews, and ratings are the plain average of all published reviews.
Next: Sun 27 Dec · 8 seats left From 24,00 €
Book