The Gendarmenmarkt is one of the most beautiful and popular places in Berlin. It is framed by the three monumental buildings of the German Cathedral, the French Cathedral and the Konzerthaus. The square was built at the end of the 17th century according to the plans of Johann Arnold Nering. At this time French immigrants, mainly French Protestants (Huguenots) settled in this district.
The market square was first called Esplanade, then in chronological order Lindenmarkt, Friedrichstädtischer Markt and Neuer Markt. Finally, it was renamed to Gendarmenmarkt in 1799, since from 1736 to 1782 the guard and the stables of the Garderegiment “Gens d’Armes” were settled there.
The German and the French cathedrals both came from relatively simple churches built around the year 1705 on the market. Two identical representative tower buildings were built according to the plans of Carl von Gontard in the years 1780-1785 beside the churches in order to make the Gendarmenmarkt even more attractive and above all more representative. The term “cathedral”, however, creates confusion here, since this term refers only to the architectural form of the domed buildings and not to the churches themselves.
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