TV viewers love him as an entertainer, presenter and, of course, host of the quiz show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” He was not only loyal to his adopted hometown of Potsdam for three decades, but also actively involved in it: without him, it can be said that the state’s capital would look different today. Günther Jauch will turn 70 on July 13th.
How and where he will spend his birthday remains his secret. Yauch prefers not to be found. “Therefore, it is recommended not to answer phone calls on this day. I’ll try to stick to this. I think it will work,” he told the German Press Agency (dpa) a few weeks before his birthday. “For me, such data is not that important, and I am not inclined to make a big fuss about it.”
Günter Jauch with colleague Thomas Gottschalk during the RTL show “Because they don’t know what’s going on” last year.
© dpa/Julia Feldhagen
TV crowd favorite: Günter Jauch during the taping of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” in May 2010.
© dpa/Rolf Wennenbernd
No fuss: this could be the motto of Jauch’s varied work in Potsdam. Many people may not even know what he did and is doing: the Fortuna portal on the Alter Markt, which he financed, once became the original spark for the reconstruction of the city palace.
Portal of Fortune with Günter Jauch, which at the time had just been completed.
© MANFRED THOMAS TSP
In love with Potsdam
The TV journalist and entrepreneur not only supported the reconstruction of the Belvedere on Pfingstberg, where he married his long-time partner in 2006. He also donated to the Palace Foundation the restoration of the Grotto of Neptune in Sanssouci Park and gave money to the reconstruction projects of the Marble Palace and the Church of Peace in Sanssouci. He did not shy away from controversial projects: Yauch was one of the sponsors of the reconstruction of the tower of the garrison church.
Günther Jauch in 2023 in front of the Friedenskirche bell tower, the reconstruction of which he supported.
© Andreas Kler
Jauch in front of the Grotto of Neptune in Sanssouci Park, the restoration of which he financed.
© Andreas Kler
His relationship with Potsdam can be described as love at first sight: Born in Münster and raised in Berlin, Jauch explored the town of Havel on the other side of the German-German border on a Christmas Eve trip with his future wife in the year of upheaval in 1989 – and was as shocked as he describes it. “We wanted to see Sanssouci, and then we went to the Dutch Quarter, which at that time still looked deserted,” he once told the Potsdamer Neuesten Nachrichten newspaper: “Nevertheless, the city radiated great magic for us even then, and we said to ourselves: someday we want to live here.” This was supposed to happen in a few years.
Affection is also tested. As an ardent fan of the live broadcast of the Potsdam city council meeting, Jauch is well acquainted with the sometimes lengthy and contentious debates. However, he is only extremely restrained in expressing his impatience or dissatisfaction with certain events.
Incendiary protests against arbitrariness in the administration of the monument had consequences
When he speaks out publicly, it sometimes causes a stir in the town hall: such as in 2007, when his incendiary speech against arbitrary approval practices at the Potsdam Monuments Authority caused a stir – and eventually forced a restructuring. As the developer of several renovation projects, he had to deal intensively with the authorities.
You can read more about Günter Jauch here.
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For his contribution to the preservation of the building’s historical structure, Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) awarded him the State Order of Merit in June. Woidke now also praises him in a congratulatory speech on the occasion of his 70th birthday: “You are helping to make the cityscape of Potsdam shine again,” said the Prime Minister: “This commitment is an expression of responsibility towards our society and towards future generations.”
Patron Jauch at the celebration of the anniversary of the Potsdam children’s project house “Arche” in 2020.
© Andreas Kler
Jauch not only invests in monuments, he also cares about supporting disadvantaged children: for many years he has financed the activities of the Christian youth organization Die Arche in the prefabricated housing area of Drewice, whose founding he encouraged. Here, up to 80 children and young people from the housing estate are provided with care, food and support every day.
TV presenter and winery owner Günther Jauch stands in one of his vineyards.
© dpa/Harald Tittel
In 2010, he also joined the ranks of winemakers: as a descendant of the founders, he took over the renowned Othegraven winery in Kanzem an der Saar in Rhineland-Palatinate. But after all these years, he doesn’t consider himself a winemaker, he told dpa: “I’m essentially a perpetual trainee winemaker.” And although Jauch describes the region as idyllic and romantic, and even though he often travels to Cologne for work, his first home remains Potsdam.
Villa Kellermann on the Holy Lake in Potsdam.
© Andreas Kler
Jauch at the press dinner at Villa Kellermann in 2020. At the time, star chef Tim Raue was starting out as a cameraman.
© Andreas Kler
Jauch’s wine can also be drunk in the restaurant: he bought Villa Kellermann a few years ago. The house, rich in history, is located directly on the shore of the Holy Lake and is therefore the only publicly accessible place on this shore of the lake where Potsdam celebrities live. Yauch rented a villa for a restaurant, and apartments can be rented there. (with DPA)