A Berlin or Berline carriage is a type of enclosed four-wheeled carriage with two interior bench seats facing one-another.[1] Initially noted for using two perch rails[a] and having the body suspended by leather straps called braces,[b][3][4]: 15 the term continued in use for many carriages even after the suspension system changed to steel springs.[4]: 16
The carriage was designed around 1660 or 1670 by a Piedmontese architect commissioned by the General quartermaster to Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg who used the carriage to travel 1,054 km (654.9 mi) from Berlin to Paris, where his carriage created a sensation.[1][4]: 15 [2]: 15
While some heavy-duty vehicles had used double-perches before, passenger vehicles had normally used a single perch.[4]: 15–16 The elegant but durable style was widely copied and named "berline" after the city from which the carriage had come.[4]: 15 [3] It was more convenient than other carriages of the time, being lighter and less likely to overturn.[3] The berline began to supplant the less practical and less comfortable state coaches and gala coaches in the 17th century.[4]: 16
In the 18th century, steel springs became widely used in carriage suspensions, supplanting the berline's twin-strap suspension system. The term "berline" survived as a description of the formal or ceremonial body style with two bench seats facing each other in an enclosed carriage.[4]: 16
Smaller carriages were developed from the berline by removing the rear-facing front seat, keeping a single forward-facing seat, and shortening the body. Sometimes a very small fold-down seat was installed to accommodate young children in the carriage. This style was known as the berline coupé (cut-berline) in French, halbberline (half-berlin) in German, and also berlinet or berlinette. Berlin coupé was often shortened to coupé.[4]: 16, 18, 50 [2]: 15
The berline body style initially carried over from the carriage to the automobile with the chauffeur in the open at the front and an enclosure behind with two seats facing each other as opposed to facing forward. As with the coupé and the brougham, the term evolved with the movement of the driver and controls into an enlarged enclosure, which resulted in turning the front seat to face forward. The term "berline" is now the French term for the saloon or sedan.[4]: 18
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Berlin". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. p. 0247. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012.