Gendarmenmarkt

The square holds two churches of almost identical design facing each other across it, the French Church built from 1701 for Huguenot refugees who made up a substantial part of Berlin's population at the time, and the German Church for the local Lutheran congregation. Frederick the Great added matching domed towers to both in the 1780s, purely for architectural effect and not for worship, which is why the domes stand slightly apart from the churches beneath them. Between them stands the Konzerthaus of 1821 by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, built on the ruins of a burned theatre. All three were destroyed in the war and rebuilt.

Background

Johann Arnold Nering laid the square out near the close of the seventeenth century, calling it the Linden-Markt and rebuilt by Georg Christian Unger in 1773. Its name comes from the Gendarmen, a Prussian cuirassier regiment that kept its stables here until 1773. Besides the French and German churches it holds the Berlin concert hall, and a monumental statue of the poet Friedrich Schiller stands in the middle. Over time parts of the square were called Friedrichstädter Markt, Mittelmarkt and Schillerplatz, and from 1950 to 1991 it was the Platz der Akademie.

Source: Wikipedia, "Gendarmenmarkt"

What's there

• The twin domes - matching towers added for symmetry, not for worship.
• The Huguenot church - built for the French-speaking refugee congregation.
• The Schinkel concert hall - an 1821 building between the two churches.
• The Christmas market - a ticketed market filling the square in December.

When to go

April to October, or December for the Christmas market, which charges admission. Tower climbs give views over the centre. Concerts run year-round.

Things to know

All three buildings are postwar reconstructions. The Christmas market charges entry, unusually. The square is often partly occupied by events.

Nearby

Unter den Linden lies north; Checkpoint Charlie is south.

Key facts