Berlin Cathedral
Berlin Cathedral (German: Berliner Dom), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Protestant church and dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern) on the Museum Island in central Berlin. Having its origins as a castle chapel for the Berlin Palace, several structures have served to house the church since the 15th century. The present collegiate church was built from 1894 to 1905 by order of Emperor William II according to plans by Julius Raschdorff in Renaissance and Baroque Revival styles. The listed building is the largest Protestant church in Germany[1] and one of the most important dynastic tombs in Europe.[2] In addition to church services, the cathedral is used for state ceremonies, concerts and other events.
For the present seat of the Archdiocese of Berlin, see St. Hedwig's Cathedral.Berlin Cathedral
- United (Prussian Union) (1817–present)
- Reformed (1632–1817)
- Lutheran (1539–1632)
- Catholic (until 1539)
1454, as the Catholic St. Erasmus Chapel
- Martin Böhme (1717)
- Johann Boumann the Elder (1747–1750)
- Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1817 and 1820–1822)
- Julius and Otto Raschdorff, father and son (1894–1905)
- Renaissance (until 1538)
- Brick Gothic (1538–1747)
- Baroque (1747–1817/1822)
- Neoclassical (1817–1893)
- Neo-Renaissance, since 1905
- 1451 (first building)
- 1538 (2nd bldg)
- 1750 (3rd bldg)
- 1905 (4th bldg)
- 1993 reinaugurated after removal of war destructions
11.5 million marks (1905)
west
114 metres (374 ft), shorter since the demolition of the northern memorial hall in 1975
74 metres (243 ft)
115 metres (377 ft) (until destruction 1944)
originally brick, since 1905, Silesian sandstone
Since the demolition of the Memorial Church (Denkmalskirche) section on the north side by the East German authorities in 1975, Berlin Cathedral has consisted of the large sermon church in the center, and the smaller Baptismal and Matrimonial Church (Tauf- und Traukirche) on the south side and the Hohenzollern crypt (Hohenzollerngruft), which covers almost the entire basement. Damaged during the Allied bombing in World War II, the cathedral's original interior was restored by 2002. Currently there is discussion about restoring the historical exterior as well.
Term[edit]
Berlin Cathedral (German: Berliner Dom) is the common name for the Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church (German: Oberpfarr- und Domkirche zu Berlin) in Berlin, Germany.
The Dom is the parish church of the congregation Gemeinde der Oberpfarr- und Domkirche zu Berlin, a member of the umbrella organisation Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia. The term Dom denotes a collegiate church (equivalent to the Italian duomo, or the English "Minster"); however, as most cathedrals are also collegiate churches, the term "Dom" has become the common term for a cathedral in German, though they are not synonymous. Berlin Cathedral has never been a cathedral in the actual sense of that term since it has never been the seat of a bishop. The bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg (under this name 1945–2003) is based at St. Mary's Church and Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin.
The Supreme Parish Church with its double-tower façade of 1538 with northerly adjacent parts of Berlin's Palace. Miniature shown in the present church building.
View of the interior of the Supreme Parish Church in 1705 (the only known graphic with this view)
The Supreme Parish Church in 1736 with its new towers
