Villa Finkenstein

Gazing at Villa Finkenstein, can you picture the whispers of history echoing through its yellow plastered walls? This striking two-story house, nestled on the Große Weinmeisterstraße in Potsdam’s Nauener Vorstadt, has witnessed centuries of change. Villa Finkenstein’s story begins long before its current grandeur, documented on an 1848 map, likely already belonging to the Finck von Finckenstein family. In 1868, Major Graf Finck von Finckenstein commissioned Ernst Petzholtz, a renowned court architect and master mason, to transform the existing structure. Petzholtz’s vision involved adding a second story and a distinctive tower, giving birth to the Villa Finkenstein we see today. The original one-and-a-half-story house, with its seven bays and gabled roof, underwent a dramatic metamorphosis. A loggia and a grand staircase once graced the front, leading to the garden. However, these features were replaced with a flat central projection adorned with a triangular pediment. The tower, added to the southwest corner, became home to the staircase and entrance, its overhanging hipped roof concealing a cozy living space instead of an open belvedere. This transformation marked a pivotal moment in Potsdam’s architectural history. Villa Finkenstein, along with the Villa Henckel on Pfingstberg, became the first tower villas built on the plains of the suburbs after the reign of Friedrich Wilhelm IV. The villa’s story continued to unfold through the hands of various owners. Records show Oberstleutnant z. D. Conrad Finck von Finckenstein as the owner in 1879, followed by his widow, Mathilde, who commissioned a stable in 1894. Later, their son, also named Conrad, further expanded the property with a north-side annex in 1905 and additional stables and a carriage house in 1911. By the 1910s, Villa Finkenstein changed hands again, passing to Hauptmann Max Edler von der Planitz, personal adjutant to Crown Prince Wilhelm. It briefly returned to the Finckenstein family before Rittmeister Wilhelm zu Solms-Sonnenwalde, initially a tenant, became the owner in 1919. By 1922, Major a. D. Julius von und zu Egloffstein took ownership, renting out parts of the house and even proposing the demolition of the carriage house and laundry. The villa’s journey through the 20th century continued, serving as the property of the Garantie- und Kreditbank AG in 1949 before being used by the Soviets from 1950. After German reunification, Villa Finkenstein returned to private ownership, its storied past etched into every brick and beam. Its yellow facade stands as a silent witness to the passage of time, a tangible link to Potsdam’s rich history.