Christophorus Church (Berlin-Friedrichshagen)
The Christophoruskirche is a Protestant church in the Berlin district of Friedrichshagen . It was built in the years 1901–1903 by Ernst Schrammer to a design by Jürgen Kröger as a replacement for the former village church. The most important treasure of the church is the altar Bible with a dedication by Empress Auguste Viktoria , which was given to the community at the inauguration of the building. The building on Bölschestrasse is a listed building . It serves the Evangelical Church Community Friedrichshagen, which belongs to the parish of Lichtenberg-Oberspree in the Berlin Sprengel of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia .
Building history
In 1898 it was decided to build a church to replace the old, too small village church from 1800. The foundation stone was laid in 1901 . The old village church stood right in front of the new church until weeks before the inauguration, but was first shortened and later completely demolished in order to create space. The construction costs totaled 300,000 marks , of which the patroness and namesake Empress Auguste Viktoria took over 75,000. The inauguration took place on June 14, 1903, when the community gave itself the name of the martyr and Saint Christopher .
Architecture and interior design
The architect Jürgen Kröger designed a church that could be built on the existing property without purchasing land, but at the same time was significantly larger than the previous building with 1000 seats. For this he planned a rotation of the longitudinal axis and the main entrance towards the south and two side portals similar to the main entrance on today's Bölschestrasse (then Friedrichstrasse ), which kept the overall impression uniform.
The brick church with a cross-shaped floor plan was built in the neo-Gothic style. The north-facing nave consists of two doubled bays in front of and behind the square crossing , in the gusset between the side aisle and the south facade is the originally 64-meter-high and pointed, now smaller square tower with a bell . The transept consists of a doubled yoke next to the crossing. The decorative gable above the main portal has been decorated with a mosaic since the 1960s that depicts Christophorus in front of the Müggelsee landscape. The gables of the side portals are decorated with frescoes that have now become unrecognizable. The three round windows on the north facade above the altar, which are supposed to symbolize the Trinity, are striking.
The altar designed by Richard Grüttner shows the crucifixion of Jesus with mourners in the middle, the side panels show the Lord's Supper vessels paten and chalice. The pulpit and font are also by Richard Grüttner and are still preserved today. The organ, originally built by the Dinse brothers in 1903, was rebuilt in 1938 and a Rückpositiv was added. In 1991 a new game table with setter combinations was installed . In 1947 a fire destroyed the original neo-Gothic wall design and a painting of the Last Supper by Paul Gathemann above the altar. Since then, the church walls have only been given simple paint. In 1917 the copper roof of the church was confiscated for war purposes and replaced with a slate roof. After the Second World War, some windows damaged by bombs were replaced.
Bells
The three-part ringing made of cast steel bells, which were cast by the Bochum Association around 1900, is located in the tower. An inventory list of the foundry contains the following information: the ensemble of bells with clapper, bearing, axes and chime lever cost 4,062 marks to manufacture . (Adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency: around 28,000 euros).
| size | Chime | Weight (kg) |
lower diameter ( mm) |
Height (mm) |
inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| greatest | d | 1324.5 | 1490 | 1315 | unknown |
| middle | f | 1017.0 | 1333 | 1185 | unknown |
| smallest | as | 557.5 | 1124 | 1005 | unknown |
Storm damage in 1972 and consequences for the church building
On November 13, 1972, the tower of St. Christopher's Church was destroyed by the Quimburga hurricane . The falling gables killed a 64-year-old woman and tore 25 square meter holes in the roof and vault of the church. To secure the tower for a short time, the top was fastened with steel cables. The top of the tower, threatened by collapse, was torn down three days later and replaced by the gable roof construction that still exists today . In the course of these renovations, which were completed in 1977, the nave, which was also damaged by the storm, was redesigned. The side aisles, which have since been separated from the central nave, now serve as community rooms. A new prayer room ("winter church") was created under the enlarged organ gallery. As a result of the redesign, 200 seats were lost in the main nave.
Childcare and cemetery
The Christophorus congregation has a daycare center on Peter-Hille-Straße and a cemetery , ibid.
literature
- Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin (ed.): Sacral buildings. (= Berlin and its buildings , part VI.) Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-433-01016-1 , p. 382.
- Fred Schulze: Christophorus Church Berlin-Friedrichshagen. Information sheet, August 1999
Web links
- Website of the community
- Article about the church on the local site
- Information about the architecture
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry in the Berlin State Monument List with further information
- ↑ Short information on the foundation stone of the Christophoruskirche in Friedrichshagen (in the search window Friedrichshagen enter; PDF; 20.0 MB)
- ↑ Christophorus Church , Berlin Friedrichshagen . Website of the church building documentation office. Retrieved January 4, 2011.
- ↑ Compilation of the bells delivered to Berlin and the surrounding area ; Bochum Association, around 1900. In the archive of the Köpenick Church of St. Josef, viewed on August 6, 2019
Coordinates: 52 ° 27 '3.4 " N , 13 ° 37" 30.5 " E