Page 78 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Germany
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76      BERLIN  AREA  B Y  AREA                                                                              EASTERN  CENTRE      77


                           0 Konzerthaus       monument was returned to its                       Liebknecht proclaimed the birth   design by Johann Boumann.
                           Concert Hall        rightful place in 1988. The statue                 of the Socialist Republic.  Built between 1747 and 1750,
                                               is mounted on a high pedestal                        In 1989 the square reverted to   the cathedral included the
                           Gendarmenmarkt 2. Map 4 C2.                                            its original name and a former   original Hohenzollern family
                           Tel (030) 203 09 21 01.  Stadtmitte.  surrounded by allegorical
                                               figures repre senting Lyric Poetry,                GDR government building was   crypt, one of the largest of its
                           A late Neo-Classical jewel, this   Drama, Philosophy and History.      torn down. A palace­like building,   kind in Europe. The present
                           magnificent theatre building,                                          the Humboldt­Forum, will be an   Neo­Baroque structure is the
                           formerly known as the                                                  international and cultural centre   work of Julius Raschdorff and
                           Schauspielhaus, is one of the   q Deutscher Dom                        when complete in 2019.  dates from 1894 to 1905.
                           greatest achievements of   German Cathedral                                                Following severe World War II
                           Berlin’s best-known architect,                                                             damage, the cathedral has
                           Karl Friedrich Schinkel. It was   Gendarmenmarkt 1. Map 4 C3.          r DDR Museum        been restored in a simplified
                                               Tel (030) 227 30 431.  Stadtmitte
                           built between 1818 and 1821   or Französische Straße. Exhibition:      Karl­Liebknecht Straße 1. Map 5 D1.    form. The Hohenzollern
                           around the ruins of Langhan’s   Open 10am–6pm Tue–Sun (to 7pm          Tel (030) 847 123 731.  &    memorial chapel, which
       Side elevation of the Französischer Dom,   National Theatre, destroyed    May–Sep). 8 in English on request.  Alexanderplatz. @ 100, 200, TXL.   adjoined the northern walls,
       built for Huguenot refugees  by fire in 1817. The portico                                  Open 10am–8pm Mon–Sun (to    has been dismantled.
                           columns were retained in the   The cathedral at the southern           10pm Sat).
       9 Französischer     new design. Following bomb   end of the square is an old
       Dom                 damage in World War II, it    German Protestant-   The surviving Stadtschloß portal fronting   This privately run museum was
       French Cathedral    was reconstructed as a   Reformed church. Based    a government building  enlarged in 2016 and provides a
                           concert hall and the    on a five-petal shape,                         fascinating, interactive insight
       Gendarmenmarkt 5. Map 4 C2. Tel   exterior was restored   it was designed by   e Schloßplatz   into daily life in the former East
       (030) 206 49 922/3.  Stadtmitte or   to its former glory.    Martin Grünberg and          Germany. Visit a reconstructed
       Französische Straße. Museum: Open   The Konzerthaus is   built in 1708 by   Map 5 D2.  Hackescher Markt.    flat and take a simulated ride in
       10am–6pm Tue–Sun. & Church:   now home to the   Giovanni Simonetti.    @ 100, 147, 200, TXL.  an old Trabant car through a
       Open noon– 5pm Tue–Sun. 5
       12:30pm Tue–Fri, 10am Sun.  Viewing   Konzerthausorchester   In 1785 it acquired a   This square was once the site    concrete housing estate.
       platform: Open 10:30am–7pm daily.  Berlin.   dome-covered tower        of a huge residential complex
                             The whole building    identical to that of the   known as Stadtschloß (City
       Although the two churches   is decorated with   French cathedral.      Castle). Built in 1451, it served    t Berliner Dom
       standing on opposite sides of   sculptures alluding to      Burned down in   as the main residence of the   Am Lustgarten. Map 5 D1. Tel (030)
       Schauspielhaus seem identical,   drama and music. The   1945, it was rebuilt in   Brandenburg Electors. It was   202 69 136.  Hackescher Markt.
       their only common feature is   façade, which includes    1993, with its interior   transformed from a castle to a   @ 100, 200, TXL Open Apr–Sep:
       their matching front towers.    a huge Ionic portico    adapted as exhibition   palace in the mid­16th century   9am–8pm Mon–Sat, noon–8pm Sun;
       The French cathedral was    with a set of stairs,    space. On display is the   when Elector Friedrich III (later   Oct–Mar: 9am–7pm Mon–Sat, noon–
       built for the Huguenot   is crowned with a   exhibition “Milestones –   King Friedrich I) ordered its   7pm Sun. & 5 10am, 6pm Sun.
       community, who found refuge   sculpture of Apollo   Sculpture from   Setbacks – Sidetracks”.   reconstruction in the Baroque
       in protestant Berlin following   riding a chariot pulled    Deutscher Dom  Over five floors, it traces   style. The main seat of the   The original Berliner Dom was   The Neo-Baroque interior of the
       their expulsion from France after   by griffins.  the historical develop-  Hohenzollern family for almost   based on a modest Baroque   Berliner Dom
       the revocation of the Edict of     In front of the theatre stands   ment of the parliamentary   500 years until the end of the
       Nantes in 1598. The modest   a shining white marble statue   system in Germany.  monarchy, the palace was partly   Berlin’s Bridges
       church, built between 1701    of Friedrich Schiller, which was         burned during World War II but
       and 1705 by Louis Cayart and   sculpted by Reinhold Begas and          was provisionally restored and   Despite wartime damage, Berlin’s bridges are still well worth seeing.
       Abraham Quesnay, was   erected in 1869. Removed by   w Schloßbrücke    used as a museum.    The Spree river and the city’s canals have some fine, exemplary
       modelled on the Huguenot   the Nazis during the 1930s, the   Map 5 D2.  Hackescher Markt.      In 1950–51, despite protests,   architecture on their banks, while many of the bridges were designed
       church in Charenton, France,            @ 100, 200, TXL.               the palace was demolished and   and decorated by famous architects and sculptors. Probably the most
       which was destroyed in 1688.                                           the square was renamed Marx­  renowned bridge is the Schloßbrücke designed by Karl Friedrich
       The interior features a late-           This is one of the city’s most   Engels­Platz under the GDR.  Schinkel. Further south along the Kupfergrabenkanal, the Schleusen­
       Baroque organ from 1754.                beautiful bridges, connecting     Now all that remains is the   brücke, dating from around 1914, is decorated with reliefs of the early
         The structure is dominated by         Schloßplatz with Unter den     triumphal­arch portal that once   history of the city’s bridges and sluices. The next
       a massive, cylindrical tower,           Linden. It was built in 1824 to a   adorned the façade on the   bridge, heading south, is the Jungfernbrücke
                                                                                                   (1798), which is the last drawbridge in Berlin.
       which is encircled by Corinthian        design by Karl Friedrich       Lustgarten side. This is now   The next bridge along is the Gertraudenbrücke.
       porticos at its base. The tower         Schinkel. Statues were added to   incorporated into the wall of the   Where Friedrichstraße crosses the Spree river is
       and porticos were designed by           the top of the bridge’s sparkling   former government building, the   the Weidendammer Brücke, built originally
       Carl von Gontard and added              red-granite pillars in 1853. These   Staatsratgebäude, which was   in 1695–7 and subsequently rebuilt in
       around 1785. It houses the              figures, made of white Carrara   erected in 1964 on the square’s   1923, with an eagle motif adorning its
       Huguenot Museum, which                  marble, were also created by   south side. The building’s decor   balustrade. On the Spree near the
       charts the history of the               Schinkel. The statues depict   features the remaining original   Regierungsviertel is the magnificent
       Huguenot community in                   tableaux from Greek mythology,   sculptures, including the magnif­  Moltkebrücke (1886–91). The bridge is
       France and Brandenburg.                 such as Iris, Nike and Athena,   icent atlantes by the famous   guarded by a huge griffin wielding a shield
         A viewing platform, which is          training and looking after their   Dresden sculptor, Balthasar   adorned with the Prussian eagle, while cherubs
       40 m (131 ft) above the ground,         favourite young warriors. The   Permoser. Their inclusion was   dressed in a military fashion hold up lamps. On
       is one of the city’s highest historic   elaborate wrought-iron         due to their propaganda value:   the arches of the bridges are portraits of   Ornamental feature of a bear
       observation platforms and offers   Interior of the Konzerthaus, formerly    balustrade is decorated with   it was from the balcony of the   leaders, designed by Karl Begas.  on the Liebknechtbrücke
       stunning views of the skyline.  the Schauspielhaus  intertwined sea creatures.  portal that in 1918 Karl
       For hotels and restaurants in this area see pp492–3 and pp510–11


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     Eyewitness Travel   LAYERS PRINTED:
     Catalogue template    “UK” LAYER
     (Source v2.2)
     Date 15th January 2013
     Size 125mm x 217mm
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