Neu Potsdam

The Baronie Neu Potsdam is an Andermani peerage title awarded by The Royal Manticoran Navy: The Official Honor Harrington Fan Association, Inc..

Neu Potsdam was created as a title on 01 July 2023 at MantiCon when KADM Geoff Zoeller was created Freiherr Neu Potsdam.

Baronie of Neu Potsdam

#	Name	Elevated	Rank
1	Geoff Zoeller	01 July 2023	Freiherr

Coat of arms of Freiherr Neu Potsdam

Arms of Freiherr Neu Potsdam as recorded by the College of Arms

Escutcheon

Sable a pale gules overall an Andermani eagle displayed argent, armed gules and charged with a cursive letter "Z" Or.

Coronet

The escutcheon is ensigned with the coronet of a Freiherr of the Andermani Empire.

Motto

Gott Mit Uns

The phrase, translated from German, means "God With Us." It comes from the biblical text of Matthew 1:23 and was used for the first time in the former Old Earth region of German states by the Teutonic Order. Later it became a common phrase on Old Earth Prussian and Imperial German heraldry.

Orders and decorations

Below the Escutcheon is draped the riband and badge of the House Order of Anderman for Merit.

Symbolism

The Eagle is stylized after one of the earliest noble crests of the Old Earth Duchy of Prussia from around 1525 AD. Originally styled with a cursive "S" (representing Sigismund the Old), the letter was dropped when the duchy passed to the Hohenzollern family. The Freiherr's arms incorporate a cursive "Z" in honor of his family name, both historic and present.

Flag of the Baronie

Personal Flag of Freiherr Neu Potsdam

History and Geography of Neu Potsdam

Neu Potsdam has been used as a title since before the founding of the Empire. The Neu Potsdam Protectorate was a single system star nation founded in 1512 PD when Gustav Anderman (later Gustav I) and the mercenaries of his Liegnitz, Ltd arrived at the planet of Kuan Yin, rescuing its population from slow starvation. It existed for eleven years until 1523 PD and was then redesignated as the core of the newly declared multi-system Andermani Empire. Now simply referred to as Potsdam, the planet is the capital of the Andermani Empire, located in the New Berlin System.

‘Neu Potsdam’ has, however, persisted as an eponymously named area and city immediately outside of the planetary capital city of Zizhulin and is therefore part of the Imperial Metropolitan Region. The administrative seat of the barony sits on the river Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of Zizhulin and the Sorgenfrei Palace, and lies embedded in a hilly morainic landscape dotted with many lakes, around 20 of which are located within Neu Potsdam’s city limits.

The barony has also been the site of a number of summer and recreational residences of the Anderman royal family since the dynasty’s founding. Neu Potsdam’s planning embodied the ideas of the Old Earth ‘Age of Enlightenment.’ Through a careful balance of architecture and landscape, Neu Potsdam was intended as “a picturesque, pastoral dream” which would remind its residents of their relationship with nature and reason.

In consequence, the barony is widely known for its palaces, its lakes, and its overall historical and cultural significance. Landmarks include the parks and palaces of Ohnebedenken, the Empire's largest Imperial Heritage Site, as well as other palaces such as the Friedrichhof hunting lodge and grounds, the eccentric Rose Bush Palace, and the elegant Schloss Anderman, used for less formal state occasions and as a getaway for Anderman newlyweds and those that need to leave behind for a while the stresses and intrigues of Andermani court society.

The Baronie of Neu Potsdam is home to these and other notable institutions, businesses, and attractions:

Zoellerberg Fortress

Seat of the Freiherr and the barony’s administrative center. Zoellerberg Fortress is an imposing anachronistic stone fortress located in the outskirts of the city of Neu Potsdam, sitting on high ground immediately adjacent to the river Havel. Its famed ‘river gate’ leads directly into the lower keep itself and has been an entry into the fortress used by emperors and apprehended criminals alike.

Neu Potsdam Winery

During the time of famine, one of the accidental consequences of the microbiologists’ “redesign” of terrestrial crops, was a new type of grape that only grew on Potsdam, producing a unique dark wine. Now one of only seven vintners in the Empire to cultivate that varietal, Neu Potsdam Winery has proudly produced and distributed fine vintages for over 350 years.

Westrovian Entrepreneurial Cooperative

One of the chief innovation ‘think tanks’ in the entire Empire, the firm is home to some of the brightest (and most opportunistic) minds in the thriving economy of the bustling Andermani Empire. The famed Neu Potsdam Conference, which bi-annually brings together business leaders from various corporate concerns around the Empire, meets in the Westrovian corporate headquarters and discusses the many ways in which these powerful and diverse corporate entities can work together to meet their (and the Empire’s) goals.

Sun Tzu Archival Research Center and Repository

With an interstellar reputation for scholarship and learning, this extension center of Anderman University supports the studies of both military and civilian personnel in leadership, management, communications, ethics, and strategy. The center is the site of many first editions and manuscripts on business, tactics, and war, including two old-style paper first editions of “Sternenkrieg”, written by Gustav I Anderman himself.

Gebäckgarnelen Distributors, Ltd

One of the oldest exporters of quality shellfish and seafood in the Andermani Empire has its corporate headquarters just downstream from the Zoellerberg Fortress itself on the river Havel. With cultivation farms, research centers, flash-freezing facilities, and distribution nodes across the planet, Gebäckgarnelen Distributors is the industry standard for fine water-borne food products.

Das Jadekreuz “The Jade Cross”

Ironically, established in the Earldom of New Williamsburg on Manticore as the first traditional Andermani restaurant located there, several additional locations have appeared in different star nations over the past two decades. One of these is now located in the city of Neu Potsdam itself. In alternate years the Earl of New Williamsburg will either come to Neu Potsdam to meet with Freiherr Neu Potsdam, or the Freiherr will go to Manticore and meet with the Earl. They are said to be fast friends. These meetings always include a gala event hosted at Das Jadekreuz and cement not only the friendship between the two nobles, but also the star nations they both represent ... and the food is very good!

Adlerfelsen Mining, Ltd

Part of the Neu Potsdam holdings is the Adlerfelsen section of the Anderman Asteroid Belt, which was a gift to the Freiherr by the Emperor to help support the economy of the barony upon its establishment. The Adlerfelsen Mining, Ltd was established as a wholly owned company of the Zoeller family and consists of multiple extraction, refining, and distribution facilities. While not rich in precious metals and gemstones, this section of the belt nonetheless supplies a large number of rare earths used in the molycirc industry as well as for shipboard weapons systems used by the Imperial Andermani Navy.

Koebel Scout Reservation

Named for Eberhard Koebel, an Old Earth German Scout leader, the Andermani Scouts Association's Koebel Scout Reservation is among the oldest continuous Scouting and youth recreational facilities on the planet. The reservation makes up fully 15% of the entire land mass of the barony and sits astride both the Havel river and the Kaiserkrone Mountain Range. Hosting Scouts from across the Empire and beyond, the reservation is highly popular. Every year, each Anderman Scout who obtains the coveted highest rank of Pfadfinderinnen or Pfadfinder is invited to a mass camporee on the reservation’s grounds. Freiherr Neu Potsdam is widely acknowledged to be one of the Empire’s strongest patrons of the youth movement and underwrites the entire event from the barony’s privy purse. More often than not, the Emperor himself will make a ‘surprise’ visit during the event to congratulate and encourage the youth who will make up the backbone of the Empire in the future.