Schloss Cecilienhof, Potsdam

Situated in the lovely Neuer Garten in Potsdam , Schloss Cecilienhof was built in 1913-17 as a residence for Crown Princess Cecilie. Although the Prussian royal family was deposed in 1918, Cecilienhof remained in the family's hands until the outbreak of the Second World War. While extremely pleasant, Cecilienhof would be unremarkable were it not for its unique place in history. For it was here, in the heart of the humiliated Third Reich, that the four victorious Allied powers met in July and August 1945 to determine the future of Europe. The negotiations culminated in the signature of the Potsdam Agreement which demilitarised Germany and divided the country into different sectors, a precursor of Germany's later division into East and West. Visitors can now view the delegates' chambers and the conference room—complete with an enormous round table made in Moscow especially for the event—where Stalin, Churchill, Truman & co haggled over the demarcation of post-war Europe.