The Gendarmenmarkt ( en, Gut Market) is a square in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

and the site of an architectural ensemble including the Berlin concert hall and the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and German Churches. In the centre of the square stands a monumental statue of poet

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

. The square was created by Johann Arnold Nering at the end of the seventeenth century as the Linden-Markt and reconstructed by Georg Christian Unger in 1773. The Gendarmenmarkt is named after the

cuirassier Cuirassiers (; ) were cavalry equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as men-at-arms and demi-lancers, discarding their lances and adopt ...

regiment ''Gens d'Arme''s, which had stables at the square until 1773. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, most of the buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. Today all of them have been restored.

Origins

Gendarmenmarkt was first built in 1688. It was a marketplace and part of the city's Western expansion of Friedrichstadt, one of Berlin's emerging quarters.

Französischer Dom

The

French Church , native_name_lang = fr , image = 060806-France-Paris-Notre Dame.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris , abbreviation = , type ...

(in German: ''Französischer Dom'', where ''Dom'' refers to the "dome" and not to a cathedral. Neither the French nor the German Church was ever the seat of a bishop. The terminology is a relic of francophone

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

, who was instrumental in enhancing the Gendarmenmarkt) is the older of the two churches, was built by the

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

community between 1701 and 1705. It was modelled after the destroyed Huguenot church in Charenton-Saint-Maurice, France. The tower and

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many c ...

es, designed by Carl von Gontard, were added to the building in 1785. The French Church has a viewing platform, a restaurant and a Huguenot museum.

Deutscher Dom

The German Church (in German: ''Deutscher Dom'') is located to the south of the Gendarmenmarkt. It has a pentagonal structure and was designed by Martin Grünberg and built in 1708 by Giovanni Simonetti. This church belonged to the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

community. It too was modified in 1785 by Carl von Gontard, who built the domed tower. The German Church was completely destroyed by fire in 1945, during

. After

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

it was rebuilt, finished in 1993 and re-opened in 1996 as a museum of German history.

Konzerthaus

The Konzerthaus Berlin is the most recent building on the Gendarmenmarkt. It was built by

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. ...

in 1821 as the ''Schauspielhaus''. It was based on the ruins of the National Theatre, which had been destroyed by fire in 1817. Parts of the building contain columns and some outside walls from the destroyed building. Like the other buildings on the square, it was also badly damaged during World War II. The reconstruction, finished in 1984, turned the theatre into a concert hall. Today, it is the home of the

Konzerthausorchester Berlin The Konzerthausorchester Berlin is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra is resident at the Konzerthaus Berlin, designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The building was destroyed during World War II, and was rebui ...

. The Gendarmenmarkt hosts one of Berlin's most popular

Christmas market A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: '' Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chri ...

References

External links