Why go
In the centre of the square stands a monumental statue of Germany's renowned poet Friedrich Schiller. 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.
What to look for
- The square's symmetry comes from the Konzerthaus between the German and French cathedral buildings.
The full story
During World War II, 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 (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, who was instrumental in enhancing the Gendarmenmarkt) is the older of the two churches, was built by the Huguenot community between 1701 and 1705. It was modelled after the destroyed Huguenot church in Charenton-Saint-Maurice, France.
Useful to know
- Visit in daylight for the clearest reading of the architecture and surrounding urban space.
- Combine the stop with nearby sights on foot, allowing extra time only for any separate interior component.