Hidden behind the Bornstedter village church lies a place of quiet stories. It’s called Bornstedter Friedhof. This isn’t just any cemetery. Theodor Fontane himself described it as having the “friendly character of an orchard.” He noted that “what dies in Sanssouci is buried in Bornstedt.” Bornstedter Friedhof became the final resting place for many connected to the grandeur of Sanssouci. Generals, officers, chamberlains, and even court gardeners found their peace here. The cemetery holds the remains of Heinrich Wilhelm Wagenführer. He was a grenadier in the King of Prussia’s royal guard battalion, known as a “Tall Man”. Bornstedter Friedhof also tells stories of resistance and art. Kurt von Plettenberg, a resistance fighter involved in the July 20, 1944 plot against Hitler, is buried here. He was the only plotter who received a proper burial. Ludwig Justi, the longtime director of the Berlin National Gallery, also rests here. Nearby, in the Sello family’s private plot, lie more prominent figures. Among them are renowned landscape gardener Peter Joseph Lenné and architects Friedrich Ludwig Persius and Ferdinand von Arnim. Their work shaped the very landscape and architecture of Potsdam. Bornstedter Friedhof is more than a cemetery. It is a living tapestry of Potsdam’s history.
Rote Villa
Why is it called the *Rote Villa*, you might wonder, as you stand before this striking building? Well, its nickname,