Gendarmenmarkt

This afternoon I created a new postcard. I used photographs of the Gendarmenmarkt taken by Stefan. I then found information about the area in Wikipedia. I copied and pasted it below. Easier than writing it all again! It is next to Friedrichstrasse, and so is on the tourist map. I'm sure you will see it on your next visit to Berlin.

 -----------------------------------------------------------

The Gendarmenmarkt is a square in Berlin, and the site of the Konzerthaus and the French and German Cathedrals. 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 their stables at the square until 1773.

During World War II, most of the buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. Today all the buildings have been restored to their former state.

The French Cathedral (in German: Französischer Dom) the older of the two cathedrals, was built by the Huguenot community between 1701 and 1705. The cathedral 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 cathedral has a viewing platform, a restaurant and a Huguenot museum.