Marsano Berlin

A house for flowers south of the Gendarmenmarkt

Marsano stands at Charlottenstrasse 75 in Mitte, a few steps south of the Gendarmenmarkt. The concert hall and the French cathedral are in sight, Checkpoint Charlie and Friedrichstrasse are within walking distance, and galleries, publishing houses and hotels line the streets all around. Charlottenstrasse runs dead straight through the Friedrichstadt, whose strict grid was laid out at the start of the eighteenth century and still orders this part of Mitte today. The shop was founded in 2005 by Annett Kuhlmann, Katrin Jahn and Andreas Namysl. Annett Kuhlmann trained as both a photographer and a florist and learned her craft in London among other places. Around 35 people work in the house now. Behind the shop windows there is far more than floristry: a section for the home with vases, vessels and furniture, and a creative space used for events and for changing exhibitions of young Berlin art. The nearest stations are Stadtmitte on the U2 and U6 lines and Hausvogteiplatz on the U2, which took its name from the seat of the old city court and today sits in the middle of the former garment quarter.

A field of its own outside the city

The hand at Marsano is deliberately loose. Bouquets follow the season and whatever material is available rather than fixed recipes, tied loosely and arranged at different heights, with Dutch still lifes as the model. Part of the flowers have grown since 2019 on a field of the house outside the city, worked on regenerative principles, and beside it lies a trial garden in Rahnsdorf with dahlias, amaranth, narcissi and rarer species. Fresh bouquets run between 60 and 100 euros, and for weddings there is a small package from 390 euros. Alongside the bouquets stand an Everlasting Collection of lasting blooms, funeral flowers, plants and pots as well as vintage furniture gathered at flea markets in Paris and London and at bazaars in India. The house is known for large settings too: flower curtains for a Dior haute couture show and arrangements in the Hotel de Rome and the Boros bunker are among its references, along with catwalks, fashion shows and furniture in well known Berlin restaurants. Anyone who wants to work with their hands will find a programme of pottery and wreath evenings that changes over the year.