Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1
Französischer Dom
Gendarmenmarkt 5 •
Tower
Daily 10am-7pm • €3 •
W
franzoesischer-dom.de
Frederick the Great's Gendarmenmarkt revamp is at its most impressive and
eye-catching in the
Französischer Dom
at the northern end of the square. Built as a
simple place of worship for Berlin's influential Huguenot community at the beginning
of the eighteenth century, the building was transformed by the addition, eighty years
later, of a Baroque tower, turning it into one of Berlin's most appealing churches. he
Dom tower
has some fine bells, which ring out daily at noon, 3pm and 7pm. Bell-
ringing concerts are sometimes performed at other times - ask at the desk for details.
You can climb up the tower via a longish spiral of steps to an outside balcony with
good views over the square - note that standing here when the bells ring will be a
near-deafening experience.
Hugenottenmuseum
Tues-Sun noon-5pm • €2
In the church at the base of the Dom tower is the entrance to the
Hugenottenmuseum
,
detailing the history of the Huguenots in France and Brandenburg. Exhibits deal with
the theological background of the Reformation in France, the Revocation of the Edict
of Nantes leading to the flight of the Huguenots from their native country, their
settling in Berlin and the influence of the new arrivals on trade, science and literature.
here is also a short section on the destruction and rebuilding of the Dom.
Französischen Friedrichstadtkirche
Tues-Sun noon-5pm •
W
franzoesische-friedrichstadtkirche.de
he Dom
tower is so striking that a lot of visitors don't actually notice the church proper,
the
Französischen Friedrichstadtkirche
(French Church in Friedrichstadt), which is modest
enough in appearance that it looks more like an ancillary building for the tower. he main
entrance to the church is at the western end of the Dom, facing Charlottenstrasse. he
church, reconsecrated in 1983 after years of restoration work, has a simple hall-like interior
with few decorative features and only a plain table as an altar.
Deutscher Dom
Tues-Sun: May-Sept 10am-7pm; Oct-April 10am-6pm • Free; free English-language audio guides available at the front desk
(ID required as deposit)
At the southern end of the Gendarmenmarkt, the
Deutscher Dom
, built in 1708 for the
city's Lutheran community, is the stylistic twin of the Französischer Dom. he Dom
now hosts the fairly dull
“Wege-Irrwege-Umwege”
exhibition, which looks in detail at
Germany's democratic history. A wander up through the Dom with its labyrinth of
galleries is the highlight, and the reward for reaching the top is the chance to see a few
scale-models of some early Norman Foster designs for the reconstruction of the
Reichstag (see p.37).
Konzerthaus Berlin
Between the Gendarmenmarkt's two churches stands Schinkel's Neoclassical
Konzerthaus Berlin
(formerly called the Schauspielhaus). Dating from 1817, it was
built around the ruins of Langhans' burned-out National heatre, retaining the latter's
exterior walls and portico columns. A broad sweep of steps leads up to the main
entrance and into an interior of incredible opulence, where chandeliers, marble, gilded
plasterwork and pastel-hued wall paintings compete for attention. Gutted during a raid
in 1943, the building suffered further damage during heavy fighting as the Russians
attempted to root out SS troops who had dug in here. It reopened in October 1984
and during Christmas 1989, Leonard Bernstein conducted a performance of
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in the theatre to celebrate the
Wende
,
with the word
Freiheit
(“Freedom”) substituted for
Freude
(“Joy”) in Schiller's choral finale.
