Insider guides were treated to a fantastic educational tour all around the historic district of Mitte exploring French influence in Berlin since the arrival of the Huguenots in 1685. At one time 1 in every 5 Berliners was a French Huguenot! Originally they settled in the Friedrichstadt area just outside what was then the city walls, now very much in the central area around the aptly named Gendarmenmarkt. The next great period of influence was Napoleon’s reign over Berlin from 1806 to 1814. It was during this time that the Jewish community benefited enormously from the Emancipation Edict of 1812.
French Bookshop on Friedrich Strasse
Galeries Lafayette
French Church on Gendarmenmarkt
Plaque commemorating the welcoming of the Huguenots to Berlin and Prussia
The very beautiful Friedrichwerder Church, wonderfully renovated and currently an exhibition space and an oasis of calm in the bustling center of Berlin.
This was a hugely insightful tour led by the fabulously knowledgeable and eloquent, Walter Kreipe.