Located in the Albert Einstein Science Park on the hill of Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, GFZ is part of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centres.

It is the latest in a long line of research institutes that have been located on the Telegrafenberg.

These have included the Central Institute of for Physics of the Earth (ZIPE), which was an institute of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR (German Democratic Republic) that was actively involved in Geodesy.

Under the directorship of Friedrich Robert Helmert from 1886 to 1917, the institute developed into the world's leading center for scientific geodesy.

Between 24 March and 9 July 2017 GFZ shows a bilingual exhibition (German / English) with the title Focus: Earth - Measuring our World in the Haus der Brandenburgisch-Preußischen Geschichte in Potsdam with many exhibits of the history of geosciences on the Telegrafenberg hill.