Gendarmenmarkt

In front of you is the Gendarmenmarkt, for many the most beautiful square in Berlin. We end the route here because this square tells another side of the city's story: that of a capital built by immigrants.

1The refugees' square

The square was laid out in the late 17th century, in the new district of Friedrichstadt. In 1685 the Great Elector's Edict of Potsdam offered refuge to the Huguenots, the Protestants driven out of France. Thousands of them came to Berlin, so many that around 1700 a sizeable share of the city's residents spoke French. Between 1701 and 1705 the French Church was built for them on the north side; opposite rose the German Church. The square takes its name from the Gens d'armes cavalry regiment, which had its stables here in the 18th century.

2Frederick the Great's towers

The two domed towers you see aren't part of the original churches: Frederick II had them added between 1780 and 1785, to designs by Carl von Gontard, to give the square a monumental air. That's why both are called “Dom”, although neither is a cathedral: the word refers to their domes.

3Schinkel's theatre

In the middle, Karl Friedrich Schinkel built the Royal Theatre between 1818 and 1821, today the Konzerthaus. Flattened in 1945, the square was rebuilt in East German times. At Christmas 1989, Leonard Bernstein conducted Beethoven's Ninth here to celebrate the fall of the Wall.

Look closely: the two towers seem like twins, but the churches behind them are different.

4What to look for

• The Schiller statue, by Reinhold Begas, in front of the steps.
• The two domes, almost identical.
• The top of the Konzerthaus, crowned by Apollo in a chariot drawn by griffins.