Französischer Dom/Hugenottenmuseum

Französischer Dom/Hugenottenmuseum review

Built in the early 18th century for Berlin's 6,000-plus-strong French Protestant community, the church was later given a baroque tower, which offers fine views over Mitte. The tower is purely decorative and unconsecrated - and, therefore, not part of the church, which is known as the Französischen Friedrichstadt Kirche (noon-5pm Mon-Sat; after service-5pm Sun).

An exhibition on the history of the French Protestants in France and Berlin-Brandenburg is displayed within the building (the modest church has a separate entrance at the western end). The museum chronicles the religious persecution suffered by Calvinists (note the bust of Calvin on the outside of the church) and their subsequent immigration to Berlin after 1685, at the behest of the Hohenzollerns. The development of the Huguenot community is also detailed with paintings, documents and artefacts. One part of the museum is devoted to the church's history, particularly the effects of World War II - it was bombed during a Sunday service in 1944 and remained a ruin until the mid 1980s.