The venue of the conference is the Kongresshotel am Templiner See in Potsdam ca. 30 km from the City centre of Berlin (excellent connections via public transport) and the two major airports Berlin-Tegel (TLX) and Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF). During the early 1900s the site of the hotel was an airship dockyard which manufactured the famous Zeppelins. The design of the hotel as well as some displays remind of this pioneering period of commercial hydrogen use. The room rates vary between 66.- and 120.- EURO/night, including breakfast, service charges and all taxes. For transportation to and from the hotel you may travel by public transport or taxi. Please mind that rooms for conference delegates are reserved within the allocated quota until April 13, 2006, only. Due to the Soccer World Cup, it is very likely that the hotel will be booked up early! According considerations apply to flights to Germany!
The hotel is located in the neighbourhood of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Potsdam. During the 19th century the baroque royal residence Potsdam with its palaces and gardens was systematically formed and extended by the Prussian kings to create an exceptional cultural landscape. This creation was based on the cooperation between the genius gardener Peter Joseph Lenné and the classicist architect Karl-Friedrich Schinkel. Major sites such as the palace and garden of Sanssouci, the New Garden with the Marmorpalais and the Cecilienhof (location of the Potsdam Conference 1945 with Truman, Stalin and Churchill/Attlee), Alexandrowska, Belvedere, the Dutch Quarter, and the magnificent baroque and Art Nouveau quarters of the city are in close distance from the hotel.
Berlin/Potsdam has a long tradition in energy business and research. Albert Einstein lived and worked in Potsdam. Berlin was the origin of important companies supplying the electric industry, among them Siemens. Today Berlin hosts the headquarters of Vattenfall Europe, Total Germany, and a number of smaller energy companies, among them a number of renewable energy companies. In the vicinity of Berlin are large wind energy farms as well as biomass combustion plants that may be visited by our delegates. The state of Brandenburg hosts one of the two lignite production areas of Germany (open pit coal extraction) with some of the world’s most modern power plants.
Potsdam is the capital of the federal state of Brandenburg, which was part of the former German Democratic Republic. Prior to the German Unification West-Berlin and Potsdam were separated by the Berlin Wall.
From 9 June to 9 July 2006 Germany will host the soccer world cup. Accordingly, many tourists will visit the country during this time. The location of Potsdam is close enough to enjoy the atmosphere of this event in Berlin without being impaired by the stress of an over-crowded city.