Building Berlin: Carl Fredrich Schinkel (Day 35)

How to Design a Capitol:

Model of the old Berlin

German Parliament Museum: Gendarmenmarkt

Every city seems to have a master architect who's name becomes intimately associated with the city. Here in America in cites New York and Los Angeles the names of planners and contentious modernizers like Robert Moses and William Mulholland tend to be spoken of in either hushed tones or with shaken heads. In Europe the most famous example may be Christopher Wren who appears to have singlehandedly built a quarter of the south of England. However, in terms of their omnipresence, all of them pale to Berlin's own Carl Friedrich Schinkel. The man seems to appear everywhere I go.

To begin with some backgound, Schinkel was Berlin's most loved and most prolific Neoclassical architect. And like all famous architects of the age he happened to be fortunate enough to be living when the Crown was spending a great deal of money on its capital city. It seems that following its liberation from Napoleon, Prussia was determined to prove its greatness "ionic-ly" via Greek Revival architecture (Roman Neoclassicalism was of course simply to French) and Schinkel was more than happy to oblige. Nonetheless much like "pogs" the fad may have gone to far.

Schinkel built this building (The Altes Museum)

To the modern viewer this may look like a bank.

Front view of the Altes Museum

He also designed the Lustgarten (Pleasure Garden) in front of it


One of his acolytes then built this museum behind it (The Alte National Galarie) which displays painting like these (which are by Schinkel) as well as numerous sculptures by and or of Carl.

Cathedral over a City

Carl Friedrich Shinkel

Interestingly, C.F.S was originally a painter until he saw Caspar David Friedrich's (Always three names with these men and always Friedrich) "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog." He was so impressed with the work that he promptly moved from painting to architecture.

To get to the museum you need to pass statues like these, that he of course designed.

How the Greek Revival Should Make You Feel

Statue of Schinkel on the Bridge to the Museum Insel

Which are across the way from Schinkel Square (Platz) a place which features this monument.

The Man Himself

Statue of Schinkel in Schinkel Platz

Behind the monument lies the Bauakademie, a school used for various purposes over the year, and which was designed by our good friend Carl Friedrich. Which of course stands next to the Friedrichswerder Church, another Schinkel creation, which now reborn as a sculpture gallery which features the visage of the man inside.... and thats only about two city blocks......

Personally I'd say he might have deserved the rather famous Iron Cross for all of his labors but he was the guy to design it to begin with.
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Iron Cross circa 1813 : A Schinkel Design