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 Gendarmenmarkt around 1900 _from_the_Top_of_Franz%25C3%25B6sischer_Dom_(French_Cathedral).JPG) Gendarmenmarkt with the Konzerthaus to the right and the German Church in the background, as seen from the top of the French Church, 2011 | |
  Location within Berlin | |
| Former name(s) | |
|---|---|
| Namesake | Gendarmen [de] |
| Type | Public square |
| Location | Berlin, Germany |
| Quarter | Mitte |
| Nearest metro station | |
| Coordinates | 52°30′49″N13°23′34″E / 52.51361°N 13.39278°E /52.51361; 13.39278 |
| Major junctions |
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| Construction | |
| Inauguration |
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TheGendarmenmarkt (German for 'Men-at-arms market') is a square inBerlin and the site of an architectural ensemble that includes theBerlin concert hall, along with theFrench andGerman Churches. In the centre of the square stands amonumental statue of poetFriedrich Schiller. The square was created byJohann Arnold Nering at the end of the seventeenth century as the Linden-Markt and reconstructed byGeorg Christian Unger in 1773. The Gendarmenmarkt is named after a Prussiancuirassier regiment called theGendarmen [de], which had stables at the square until 1773.
DuringWorld War II, most of the buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. They have all been restored.
The square was originally built in 1688. It was a marketplace and part of the city's Western expansion of Friedrichstadt, one of Berlin's emerging quarters.[3]
TheFrench Cathedral (in German:Französischer Dom, whereDom 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 francophoneFrederick the Great, who was instrumental in enhancing the Gendarmenmarkt) is the older of the two churches and was built by theHuguenot community between 1701 and 1705. It was modelled after the destroyed Huguenot church inCharenton-Saint-Maurice, France. The tower andporticoes, designed byCarl von Gontard, were added to the building in 1785. The French Church has a viewing platform, a restaurant and a Huguenot museum.
TheGerman Cathedral (in German:Deutscher Dom) is located to the south of the Gendarmenmarkt. It has apentagonal structure and was designed byMartin Grünberg and built in 1708 byGiovanni Simonetti. This church belonged to theLutheran community.[4] 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, duringWorld War II. AfterGerman reunification it was rebuilt, finished in 1993 and re-opened in 1996 as a museum of German history.
TheKonzerthaus Berlin is the most recent building on the Gendarmenmarkt. It was built byKarl Friedrich Schinkel in 1821 as theSchauspielhaus. 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 theKonzerthausorchester Berlin.
The Gendarmenmarkt hosts one of Berlin's most popularChristmas markets.[5]
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