History of Schiffbauergasse

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about 3500 BV
Neolithic ceremonial site
later
Slavic settlement
Agricultural use
Wood yard
Fishery
from 1700
Shipbuilding
From the beginning of the 18th century until 1801, the Shipbuilder’s Lane was a shipbuilding place, which is how it originally got its name.
from 1799
Knochenhauer’s Chicory Factory
One of the first buildings in the Shipbuilder’s Lane was a windmill with an adjacent residential building in neogothic style. It is well known as the Chicory Mill because a coffee substitute made from the “Blaue Wegwarte” (old German word for chicory) was ground here. About 20 years later, around 1819, the factory stopped the production.
1817
Steamboat Shipyard
The Scottish engineer John Barnett Humphrey, who built the first German steamer called Prinzessin Charlotte von Preußen in Pichelsdorf near Spandau, moved his shipyard to Potsdam in 1816. The steamers “Friedrich Wilhelm III” and “Blücher” were launched here. Because of shallow and narrow waterways as well as financial shortage, the shipyard was closed in 1821.
From 1822
Riding Theatre
An H-shaped riding stable complex and a large riding hall – the Schinkel Hall - were built according to drafts of Karl Friedrich Schinkel. One of the riding sites was only separated by a wrought-iron lattice and could be seen from the street. The public often gathered here to watch the exercising hussars; informally it was called “Reittheater” (riding theatre). During the following century further, stables were added. During 1975 – 1981, most of the riding complex needed to be demolished to build the Humboldt Bridge.
1839-42
Hussar Guard caserne
In 1838, Frederick William III ordered the building of a new caserne for the Hussar Guard Regiment beside the riding sites. More than 600 hussars, an entire regiment, could be accommodated in one building. There were 18 men on 50 square meters.
1856
Freund’s Gas Works
On October 1, 1856, the newly constructed Freund’s Gas Works owned by the Berlin entrepreneur Julius Conrad Freund started operations. The coke separator was built in 1953-55 according to the drafts of Gottfried Pust, and was so tall that it could be seen over a wide area. The gas works was one of the first industrial facilities of Potsdam and produced gas, coke and tar until July 1, 1990.