The French (Reformed) Church of Friedrichstadt (french: Temple de la Friedrichstadt, german: Französische Friedrichstadtkirche, and commonly known as Französischer Dom, meaning 'French cathedral') is in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

at the

Gendarmenmarkt The Gendarmenmarkt ( en, Gut Market) is a square in Berlin and the site of an architectural ensemble including the Berlin concert hall and the French and German Churches. In the centre of the square stands a monumental statue of poet Fri ...

, across the Konzerthaus and the German Cathedral. The earliest parts of the church date back to 1701, although it was subsequently expanded. After being heavily damaged 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 ...

, the church was rebuilt and continues to offer church services and concerts.

Name

The church is officially known as the "French Church of

Friedrichstadt Friedrichstadt (; da, Frederiksstad) is a town in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the river Eider approx. 12 km south of Husum. History The town was founded in 1621 by Dutch settlers. D ...

", but is commonly referred to as ''Französischer Dom'', or "French Cathedral". Despite their names, neither of the churches on Gendarmenmarkt is a

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

, as neither was ever seat of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

; instead, the name element ''Dom'' ("cathedral" in German) refers to the French word "dôme" (dome/cupola), using terminology as 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 Sil ...

, who was instrumental in enhancing Gendarmenmarkt.

History

Louis Cayart and Abraham Quesnay built the first parts of the French Church between 1701 and 1705 for 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 Be ...

(

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

) community. During this time, Huguenots constituted about 25 percent of the city population. The French Church was modelled after the destroyed Huguenot temple in Charenton-Saint-Maurice,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In 1785,

Carl von Gontard Carl Philipp Christian von Gontard (13 January 1731 in Mannheim – 23 September 1791 in Breslau) was a German architect who worked primarily in Berlin, Potsdam, and Bayreuth in the style of late Baroque Classicism. Next to Knobelsdorff he was c ...

modified the

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...

and built an adjacent domed tower, which eventually gave the church its name. Technically speaking, the tower is not part of the church, and both buildings have different proprietors. The tower was built to embellish the

ensemble at the instigation of Frederick the Great. The Deutscher Dom, however, on the other side of Gendarmenmarkt, consists of church building and tower as an entity. In 1817, the French Church community, like most Prussian Calvinist Reformed and Lutheran congregations joined the common umbrella organization "

Evangelical Church in Prussia The Prussian Union of Churches (known under multiple other names) was a major Protestant church body which emerged in 1817 from a series of decrees by Frederick William III of Prussia that united both Lutheran and Reformed denominations in Pru ...

", with each congregation maintaining its former denomination or adopting the new united denomination. The community of the "French Church of Friedrichstadt" maintained its Calvinist denomination. Nevertheless, already before the union of the Prussian Protestants the congregation underwent a certain acculturation with Lutheran traditions: in 1753, an organ was installed, competing with the Calvinist tradition of congregational singing without accompaniment. The singing of

psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

s was extended by

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn ...

s in 1791. The sober interior was refurbished in a more decorative but still Calvinist

aniconistic Aniconism is the absence of artistic representations (''icons'') of the natural and supernatural worlds, or it is the absence of representations of certain figures in religions. It is a feature of various cultures, particularly of cultures which a ...

style by Otto March in 1905. Today's community is part of the

Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia The Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (german: Evangelische Kirche Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz, EKBO) is a United Protestant church body in the German states of Brandenburg, Berlin and a part of Saxony ...

. The Französischer Dom was severely damaged during

and rebuilt between 1977 and 1981.Ingrid Bartmann-Kompa, Horst Büttner, Horst Drescher, Joachim Fait, Marina Flügge, Gerda Herrmann, Ilse Schröder, Helmut Spielmann, Christa Stepansky, and Heinrich Trost, ''Die Bau- und Kunstdenkmale in der DDR: Hauptstadt Berlin'': 2 parts, Institut für Denkmalpflege (ed.) (¹1983), Berlin: Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, ²1984, part I, p. 218. Today, it is used by its congregations, and for conventions of the

Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheran, Reformed (Calvinist) and United (e.g. Prussian Union) Protestant regional churches and denominations in German ...

. The public observation deck of the domed tower offers a panoramic view of the downtown area. There is a restaurant in the basement underneath the sanctuary. The tower also contains the Berlin Huguenot museum. File:Temple-protestant-charenton.gif, The Protestant Temple in Charenton before its demolition. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-12097-0007, Berlin, Platz der Akademie, Schauspielhaus, Französischer Dom.jpg, War-destroyed Französischer Dom tower and damaged actual prayer hall with the destroyed Schauspielhaus (left), photo of 4 October 1951. File:Festival of Lights 2012 - Französischer Dom.jpg, Cathedral during Festival of Lights File:Gandarmenmarkt franzoesischer dom ds hochkant wv 10 2007.jpg, Cathedral in 2007

References

External links

Französischer Dom
- official site {{DEFAULTSORT:Franzosischer Dom Reformed church buildings in Germany Friedrichstadt Church Friedrichstadt Church Friedrichstadt Church Berlin Friedrichstadt Church Friedrichstadt Church Berlin Friedrichstadt Church Huguenot history in Germany