Christ Church (Berlin-Oberschöneweide)
The Christ Church is a Protestant church consecrated in 1908 on Firlstrasse in the Oberschöneweide district of Berlin . The building also served as a studio for recordings between 1959 and 2001.
history
When the rural community of Oberschöneweide became independent as a former part of the Köpenick estate district in 1898 , the Protestant Christians continued to be assigned to the Laurentius community in Köpenick. The rapid growth of the Oberschöneweider congregation (already 803 Protestants in 1899 ) led to the desire for independence and a church building of their own , so that they no longer had to travel the long way through the Wuhlheide to Köpenick. Even without such a building, the congregation achieved church independence on April 1st with its own pastoral office. The pastor Reinhold Schmöcker conducted the first services in the assembly hall of the community school in Frischenstrasse (today Firlstrasse) and in small rooms of the fire brigade.
In the autumn of 1900 a church building association was founded, which was able to procure the necessary money and a building plot in Frischenstrasse. While the neighboring Catholic parish of St. Antonius celebrated the laying of the foundation stone for their church building in 1906 , the Protestant parish held a competition that year, which was won by the architect Robert Leibnitz . He had already made a name for himself with the Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem and helped design the Church of the Transfiguration in Adlershof . The laying of the foundation stone took place on May 5, 1907, when the chief forester Hermann Kottmeier read out the laying of the foundation stone. According to Leibnitz's drafts, the building, which cost 300,000 marks (adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency: around 1,849,000 euros), was completed by the construction company G. and C. Gause in a year and a half.
On November 6, 1908, Empress Auguste Viktoria inaugurated the church under the name of Christ Church . (The empress was also called "Kirchenjuste" by the Berlin vernacular because of her strong support for building churches in Berlin.) She gave the congregation a splendidly bound altar Bible that was stolen shortly before Pentecost 1980.
The Christ Church was one of the first churches to receive electrical lighting, carried out by AEG based in Oberschöneweide .
From 1926 onwards, the Christ Church parish had a parish hall built on a plot of land on the opposite side of the street based on plans by Albert Eveking , which was completed in 1928. It is a three-storey clinker brick building in the style of Expressionism .
Significantly damaged by an air raid on March 30, 1943 , during the final fighting of World War II in April 1945, grenades destroyed all of the church windows, including valuable stained glass . From 1945 to 1949 the Soviet headquarters used the parish hall for non-church purposes.
After the war, the church received new, simple windows and, in addition to church services, from 1959 onwards also served as a recording studio due to its excellent acoustics. Various conversions were even carried out inside the building for the recordings with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra . The Christ Church was therefore also known as the “Record Church” among the population. The records recorded here are marked “Studio Christ Church”. The community lacked the finances to be able to carry out the necessary renovation work on the building during the GDR era. In 1988, the remaining Christians decided to give up the church entirely for Christian purposes and to withdraw to the parish hall. The sacred building was now made available exclusively to the recording studio of VEB Deutsche Schallplatten and was used for these purposes until 2001.
The political change opened up new opportunities for the parish. She developed a concept for the restoration of the Christ Church as a multifunctional center for Oberschöneweide. Initially, the small baptistery could be used again for church services. In 2003/2004, the Christ Church was extensively renovated with an amount of 1.16 million euros, provided by a joint funding program from the Church, the European Union , the federal government and the State of Berlin . The new church consecration took place on May 9, 2004. Finally, the pulpit was also restored in 2006 .
Since the beginning of the 21st century, exhibitions, concerts and readings have taken place in the church in addition to community work. Since 2005 people in need have received through the Berliner Tafel e. V. initiated the action Loaf and Soul weekly food in the church.
The parish hall on Firlstrasse at the corner of Griechische Allee was given up in 2006, with the exception of the day care center that remained on the ground floor.
Architecture and furnishings of the church
The church building is essentially in the style of the Brandenburg brick Gothic and an eclectic example of the transition from historicism to heritage protection architecture ; Limestone blocks for the foundation take up the contemporary monumental style. The crossing of the cross-shaped nave is surmounted by a 56-meter-high crossing tower, the roof of which is formed by an eight-sided helmet and flanked by four turrets. Bricks and Rüdersdorfer limestone blocks serve as building materials .
The altar faces north and is enclosed by a polygonal apse . On the south side is the baptistery, which is surrounded by a semicircular apse. This is also the cornerstone. The entrances to the church are located to the side of the baptistery. The church ceiling is designed as a ribbed vault . The interior design creates an impression that has evolved over time through a deliberate mix of styles. The altar and gallery have largely been preserved in their original state. The design of the gallery is mainly from Gotthold Riegelmann (sandstone consoles) and Max Kutschmann (gallery parapet and organ prospect). Kutschmann also painted the altar modeled on the medieval winged altar. In the middle field you can see the crucified Christ , whose cross stands in front of a golden landscape. The middle gable is crowned by a pelican . The pelican symbolizes God's love and redemption through sacrificial death. The side wings of the altar show scrollwork. In the tower hang three powerful cast steel bells that rang for the consecration of the church as early as 1908. The inscriptions are from Psalm 84:12; Hebrews 13 : 8 and Psalm 144: 15.
During the renovation work carried out in 2003/2004, some modifications were made. A café was created below the western side gallery, separated by a glass wall. A community room was set up below the eastern side gallery, which is also used for exhibitions. The former baptistery serves as a winter church . The church and parish hall are under monument protection .
organ
The organ of the Christ Church was built in 1908 by Wilhelm Sauer (II + P, 20 registers , pneumatic cone stores ) and expanded in 1937 by GF Steinmeyer & Co. (Opus 1651: II + P, 27 registers, electronic cone and pocket stores ).
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Pairing : II / I, I / Ped, II / Ped
- Playing aids : roller, tongue display, tutti, two free combinations
literature
- The architectural and art monuments in the GDR. Capital Berlin. Volume II, Institute for Monument Preservation at Henschelverlag, Berlin 1987, page 321.
- Hans-Joachim Beeskow : The Evangelical Christ Church in Berlin-Oberschöneweide . Heimat-Verlag Lübben, 2007, ed. v. Parish Council of the Ev. Christ Church
- Joachim Schmidt: A building for Oberschöneweide: 100 years of the Christ Church. In: The Kiezblick. 6th year No. 69, BVZ Berliner Zeitungsdruck GmbH, Berlin 2008.
Web links
- Official website of the congregation for the Christ Church
- Architectural monuments: Christ Church Parish hall
Coordinates: 52 ° 27 ′ 48.5 ″ N , 13 ° 31 ′ 27.5 ″ E