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| The Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin |
The Bonds are visiting one of the most popular Christmas Markets of Berlin, The Gendarmenmarkt. They're buying some presents and souvenirs because they're their last 72 hours in the city. They're enjoying every moment and trying to catch all of it in their minds. It's a wonderful place with very nice people.
The Gendarmenmarkt is a square and the site of an architectural ensemble including the Konzerthaus, concert hall, and the French and German Churches. 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. The Gendarmenmarkt is named after the cuirassier regiment Gens d'Armes, which had stables at the square until 1773.
More information: Gendarmenmarkt
During World War II, most of the buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. Today all of them have been restored.
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.
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| The Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin |
The French Church or Französischer Dom 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. The tower and porticoes, designed by Carl von Gontard, were added to the building in 1785.
The French Church has a viewing platform, a restaurant and a Huguenot museum.
The French Church has a viewing platform, a restaurant and a Huguenot museum.
The Konzerthaus Berlin is the most recent building on the Gendarmenmarkt. It was built by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in 1821 as the Schauspielhaus. It was based on the ruins of the National Theatre, which had been destroyed by fire in 1817.
More information: Berlin.de
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 the Konzerthausorchester Berlin.
The Gendarmenmarkt hosts one of Berlin's most popular Christmas markets.
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold,
everything is softer and more beautiful.
Norman Vincent Peale
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