Who shaped Berlin · Part 2
Huguenots and the French in Berlin: from the Edict of Potsdam to Kurfürstendamm
In 1685 Brandenburg invited the persecuted Protestants of France, and Berlin became a new home for thousands of them. You can find their traces on Gendarmenmarkt, in two cemeteries and in a word every Berliner knows. Plus two places where French life in Berlin continues today.
Edict of Potsdam 29 October 1685, an invitation to persecuted Protestants from France
Around 20,000 religious refugees came to Berlin and Brandenburg, according to estimates
Since 1689 the Französisches Gymnasium has existed, today a Franco-German school
Today 18,897 people with French citizenship live in Berlin (30 June 2025)
How the Huguenots came to Berlin
In October 1685 Louis XIV revoked religious freedom for Protestants in France with the Edict of Fontainebleau. Only days later, on 29 October 1685, Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg answered with the Edict of Potsdam: he offered the Reformed refuge, tax relief and their own congregations with French services. According to estimates, around 20,000 people accepted the offer, and many of them moved to Berlin. Sources differ on how large their share of the city's population was around 1700, with figures ranging from a fifth to a quarter.
The newcomers brought crafts, gardening and words with them. According to a glossary from the University of Potsdam, the Huguenots introduced the word Boulette (meatball) to Berlin and the Mark, from the French word for a small ball. More Berlin words are in Berlin slang for beginners.
Where you can see it today
01 French Cathedral and Huguenot Museum · Mitte
about 5 minutes on foot from Hausvogteiplatz U-Bahn station, about 6 minutes from Stadtmitte
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
The French Friedrichstadt Church on Gendarmenmarkt was built from 1701 to 1705 for the Huguenot congregation, and Frederick the Great added the domed tower next to it only from 1780 to 1785. It is called Dom after the French word for dome; it was never a bishop's church. Inside the tower, the Huguenot Museum tells how the refugees came to Berlin and what became of them. According to the Berlin museum portal it is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:30 am to 4:30 pm, admission is 8 euros, 5 euros reduced, free under 18. The square itself takes its name from the Gens d'armes regiment, whose stables stood here in the 18th century. In Advent it hosts one of the best-known Christmas markets.
02 French Cemetery on Chausseestraße · Mitte
about 6 minutes on foot from Naturkundemuseum U-Bahn station
Right next to the Dorotheenstadt Cemetery lies the first cemetery of the French Reformed congregation, which it used from 1780 to 1835 for the descendants of the Huguenots. Most of the tombs are neoclassical, and Friedrich August Stüler designed the grave of the industrialist Pierre Louis Ravené. According to visitBerlin the cemetery opens daily from 8 am and closes between 4 and 8 pm depending on the month.
03 Fontane's grave on Liesenstraße · Mitte
about 8 minutes on foot from Schwartzkopffstraße U-Bahn station
Theodor Fontane came from a Huguenot family and lies with his wife Emilie in Cemetery II of the French Reformed congregation on Liesenstraße; the way to the grave is signposted from the entrance. The gravestones were destroyed in the Second World War and later replaced, and because the Wall ran across the site, the cemetery was hard to reach for a long time. The former chapel houses a small permanent exhibition on Fontane's life, open according to visitBerlin Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 4 pm and Friday from 9 am to 3 pm.
04 Maison de France on Kurfürstendamm · Charlottenburg
about 2 minutes on foot from Uhlandstraße U-Bahn station
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
The Maison de France at Kurfürstendamm 211 opened in 1950 and soon became one of the most important cultural addresses in the western part of the city. Today it houses the Institut français with language courses and a media library, and downstairs the Cinema Paris shows mainly French and European films, usually in the original with subtitles.
05 Centre Français in Wedding · Wedding
about 5 minutes on foot from Rehberge U-Bahn station
Directions in Google Maps · Official site
The French military government had the building at Müllerstraße 74 built in 1960 and 1961 as a cultural centre for its sector, with a library, lecture rooms and a hall for cinema and theatre. The French forces ran it until 1992; today it is a listed building and a Franco-German meeting centre that organises exchange programmes for young people and professionals and hosts events.
French in Berlin today
According to the Statistical Office for Berlin-Brandenburg, 18,897 people with French citizenship lived in Berlin on 30 June 2025. The Französisches Gymnasium, founded in 1689 for the children of the Huguenots, has also been a French school abroad since 1953 and today stands on Derfflingerstraße in Tiergarten. The French troops stationed in the north of the city from 1945 to 1994 are covered in part 1 on the Allies.
Good to know
- In cemeteries: keep your voice down, stay on the paths, do not step on graves.
- Combine: from the cemetery on Chausseestraße it is not far to the memorial on Bernauer Straße, more in Skip X, try Y.
- Closed Mondays: the Huguenot Museum is closed on Mondays and on 24 December.