BERLIN. 



473 



Bsrlin. was peace restored, when he resumed, with new eager- 

 mm ~v mmm * ness, his schemes of improvement. In eight years, 

 (from 1769 to 1777,) he caused to be rebuilt 149 

 private houses, which he presented as free gifts to the 

 proprietors ; and during the last six years of his 

 reign, (from 1780 to 1785 inclusive,) he expended 

 4,561,200 livres on the embellishment of this favou- 

 rite city. Besides all this, he often gave wood and 

 other materials to those who wished to build ; and 

 any person who engaged in that speculation, upon 

 applying to government or the police, and conforming 

 Jus plan to their general design, received gratuitously 

 from the quarry of Rudersdorf the quantity of lime- 

 stone necessary for the foundations, and for mortar. 

 The liberal schemes of Frederic were eagerly adopted 

 by his successor Frederic William II. ; who, besides 

 erecting many houses which he gave gratuitously to 

 private individuals, constructed the gate of Branden- 

 burg, in the style of the Propyleum of Athens ; part 

 of the walls of the city ; a stone bridge, and one of 

 iron. The reigning monarch, too, after the example 

 of his predecessors, has expended considerable sums in 

 the embellishment of Berlin. 



Berlin is about 11 miles in circumference. It is 

 about 4^ miles long, from the Muhlenthor on the 

 south-east, to the Oranienburgerthor on the north- 

 west ; and its breadtii is about three miles from the 

 Bernaverthor on the north-east, to the Potsdammer- 

 thor on the south-west. The town has 15 gates, 268 

 streets, 36 bridges, 6922 houses, besides 33 churches, 

 and numerous public buildings. The streets are in 

 general pretty regular, and of a convenient breadth. 

 Those in the south-west part of the town, called 

 the new town, cross one another at right angles. 

 Several of these streets are a mile long, and Frederick- 

 street is fully c l\ miles in length. The houses, which 

 do not exceed two stories, are generally built either 

 of fine white free-stone, or of brick covered with a 

 thin coating of plaster. 



There are several magnificent and interesting build- 

 ings in this metropolis. The royal palace is a splen- 

 did edifice. It was begun in 1699 by Frederic I., 

 and though built at different periods, is chiefly from 

 the designs of Schluter. Its length is 430 Rhinland 

 feet ; its width, 276 feet ; and its height, 101 feet. 

 It is four stories high. The apartments, are remark- 

 ably spacious, and adorned with valuable paintings, 

 rich tapestry, and numerous articles of furniture made 

 of solid silver. There are likewise here several an- 

 cient statues, and a Roman chair decorated with bas- 

 reliefs. The plain and simple apartment of Frederic 

 the Great, contains only four portraits representing 

 his particular friends. In the bowling-green before 

 the palace, is a fine statue of the prince Dessau, ex- 

 ecuted by Professor Schadow. The library contains 

 100,000 volumes. Among these books are 500 

 Bibles, the most remarkable of which are, the Bible 

 used by Charles I. when he was beheaded ; the first 

 Bible printed in German in 1 t50, and the first Bible 

 printed in America. There is also here a singular 

 copy of the Koran, written in such a small character, 

 and on such a thin paper, that it is only 1* inches in 

 bulk. This library is composed of five different li- 

 braries, which have been successively combined in one, 

 and is under the direction of the Academy of Sciences. 



Vol. hi. part m. 



The arsenal is one of the noblest buildings of the 

 kind in Europe. Each of its fronts is 280 feet long. 

 Above the great gate is a bronze bust of Frederic I. 

 Level with the ground, is a statue of the same mo- 

 narch by Schluter, which is much admired ; and 

 above the windows in the interior court, are 21 faces 

 by Schluter, representing the various expressions of 

 persons in the agonies of death. 



The royal stables are magnificent buildings, with 

 two courts, and between them a covered menage. In 

 the rooms above the stables, are all the accoutre- 

 ments, adorned with brilliants, of the horse on 

 which Frederic I. made his public entry into Berlin ; 

 and in the armoury chamber are many ancient pic- 

 tures and curiosities, among which is a drum covered 

 with the skin of Ziska, chief of the Hussites. 



The churches of Berlin are adorned with statues 

 of the heathen gods ; and Frederic III. before his 

 death, began to fill them with the pictures of his 

 warriors and statesmen. In the church of the gar- 

 rison are four pictures by Rode, which represent the 

 death of the four great Prussian warriors, Schwerin, 

 Kleist, Keith, and Winterfield ; and likewise many 

 standards and other trophies of Prussian valour. The 

 church of St Nicholas is a building of great antiquity, 

 and is remarkable for several fine pictures and se- 

 pulchres, particularly the monument of Puffendorf. 

 Out of the 33 churches in Berlin, the Lutherans have 

 12. There are eight churches common to the Lu- 

 therans and the reformed church. The French re- 

 formed church has six churches. The Roman ca- 

 tholics have two churches. The Moravian brethren 

 have one place of worship, and some other sectaries 

 have another place for divine service. The Jews have 

 also a synagogue here, and there are two churches be- 

 longing to the hotel of the invalids. In 1786, the 

 Lutherans amounted to about 12,500, the catholics 

 to 8000, and in 1798 there were 3421 Jews. 



Besides these buildings, we may notice the opera 

 house ; the palace and gardens of Montbijou ; the 

 house and garden of Belvidere ; the hall of the Aca- 

 demy of Sciences, which contains the anatomical the- 

 atre and the observatory; the magnificent hospital of 

 invalids, which maintains about a thousand officers and 

 soldiers ; the palaces of Prince Henry and the Prince 

 Royal ; and the new Calvinist church of Old Coin, 

 which contains the burying place of the royal fa- 

 mily. 



There are several large squares in Berlin, the prin- 

 cipal of which is William's square, which is adorned 

 with marble statues of the four great officers who dis- 

 tinguished themselves in the seven years war, viz. 

 Schwerin, Seidlitz, Keith, and Winterfield. Schwerin 

 is holding out the colours which he seized from one 

 of his officers at the battle of Prague, when his troops 

 were giving way, exclaiming, " Let all, but cowards, 

 follow me !" On the bridge over the Spree, there is 

 a colossal and equestrian bronze statue of the Grand 

 Elector Frederic William, which is leckoned the 

 chef d' wuvre of Schluter. The man and horse were 

 cast in one piece, and the whole weighs 3000 quin- 

 tals. 



There are several excellent public walks and gar- 

 dens in Berlin and its environs. Before the houses of 

 Berlin, on each side, is a causeway, and between these 

 3 o 



Berlin. 



