Apostolic Nunciature in Berlin
The Apostolic Nunciature in Berlin is the diplomatic representation of the Holy See in Germany. It is located at Lilienthalstrasse 3a in the Berlin district of Neukölln in the direct vicinity of the St. John's Basilica on the Hasenheide . The current Apostolic Nuncio and thus the official representative of the Holy See in Germany is Nikola Eterović .
History of diplomatic relations
On May 1, 1920, Germany and the Holy See established full diplomatic relations. From 1784 to 1924 the Holy See had full diplomatic relations with Bavaria and had an Apostolic Nunciature in Munich . The nuncio for Bavaria was from 1920 in personal union nuncio for the German Empire . In 1925, the relations between Prussia and the Holy See , which had been in lower ranks since 1747 ( minister-resident , envoys ), were upgraded by a nunciature. The Nuncio for Germany took over the Nunciature in Prussia in personal union. The nunciature opened at Rauchstrasse 21 in Berlin-Tiergarten represented the interests of the Holy See vis-à-vis the German Empire and the Prussian government from here . When the federal states were brought into line in May 1934, the nunciature for Prussia, in personal union with the German one, and the separate nunciature for Bavaria were dropped.
During the Second World War , the headquarters were relocated several times, first to Schloss Prötzel north of Strausberg , later to Nedlitz near Potsdam and finally again to Bavaria in the town of Eichstätt . In Berlin, a small office was kept on Michaelkirchplatz, from which the nuncio could perform his role as doyen of the diplomatic corps . The former nunciature building on Rauchstrasse was destroyed by bombs in 1943.
In 1951 the Vatican established diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany and opened an Apostolic Nunciature in Bad Godesberg ( Turmhof ). When the government moved to Berlin, the Apostolic Nunciature also moved to Lilienthalstrasse in Berlin-Neukölln on June 29, 2001. The decision was made to build a plot of land in the immediate vicinity of the St. John's Basilica.
architecture
An anonymous competition was announced in 1997 for the new building of the Apostolic Nunciature. The architect Dieter Georg Baumewerd from Münster was able to assert himself in this . According to his design, a building complex was built on the property which, in addition to the diplomatic representation, also contains the nuncio's residence and a chapel .
The complex, which is modern and very sober on the outside, consists of two four-story structures, which are set at right angles to each other and connected by a glass joint. The embassy wing with reception and office rooms is located in the building parallel to Lilienthalstrasse, while the side wing houses the chapel and the private rooms of the nuncio and his staff. The large reception hall, which leads into the representative offices, adjoins the office wing.
Although the nunciature as a modern new building forms an architectural contrast to the church, which is characterized by Romanesque and Gothic elements, the latter was included in the design. The glazed wall of the reception hall of the nunciature and the portal of the transept of the church are on one line, so that the decoration of the church portal and above all the figure of Simon Peter above the portal can be seen from the inside of the hall and outwards through the glass surface reflect. A roof terrace is designed above the reception hall of the nunciature, which allows a view of the Hasenheide park and the basilica.
A special feature compared to other embassy buildings is the in-house chapel. It is recognizable from the outside through the tall and narrow windows, which were designed in color by Wilhelm Buschulte and which point to Lilienthalstrasse and the inner courtyard. The garden was designed by Dieter Korte . In the courtyard there is a bronze group by Cecco Bonanotte entitled The Church explains the reasons of hope to people.
literature
- Giovanni Lajolo , Jürgen Tietz : The Apostolic Nunciature Berlin . Ed .: Apostolic Nunciature Berlin. 1st edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2002, ISBN 3-7954-6474-9 .
- Kerstin Englert, Jürgen Tietz (ed.): Embassies in Berlin . 2nd Edition. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 2004, ISBN 3-7861-2494-9 , pp. 297-299.
Web links
- Web presence of the Apostolic Nunciature
- Conversation about the nunciature with nunciature councilor Msgr. Doetsch (podcast God preserve! )
Individual evidence
- ^ Official homepage of the Apostolic Nunciature ( Memento of February 11, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
- ↑ baunetz.de
- ^ Giovanni Lajolo : The Chapel. In: The Apostolic Nunciature in Berlin. 2nd Edition. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2017, ISBN 978-3-7954-3174-7 , pp. 33-75.
Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 17.1 ″ N , 13 ° 24 ′ 30.8 ″ E