Britz village church
The Britz village church is a stone church from around 1300. It stands on a small hill above the village pond of Berlin-Britz . The location of the church, away from the village in a protected peninsular position, is unusual, comparable only to the Tempelhof Commandery Church or in Ihlow on the Barnim .
Building history
The floor plan type of the square choir is considered to be early Gothic and points to the second half of the 13th century, the quality of the masonry (field stones without ashlar), however, to the 14th century. Cante therefore dates “early 14th century (probably around 1310)”. The southern extension of the choir gives the impression of a medieval sacristy, because it can already be seen on Wohler's drawing from May 11, 1834, i.e. before the major renovation in 1888. However, since the extension has more careful ashlar blocks than the original building, it could also was only built in 1766 when the crypt was added.
The church had been plastered on the outside since the baroque and had large windows. On a timber-framed roof tower built in 1713 with a pointed helmet sat a weather vane with the year 1689. Over time, the Britz village church was steadily expanded: the baroque pulpit altar was built in 1720 , and in 1766 today's sacristy was used as a burial chapel for the family of the Prussian Foreign Minister Ewald Friedrich Graf von Hertzberg created. The last major renovation was carried out in 1888 by the master builder Carl Busse . On this occasion, an elaborate tower was added, in the medieval floor plan of the ship-wide, transverse rectangular west tower , up to well above the eaves height of the nave, but drawn in above. It is built from stone blocks , but is clearly recognizable as a modern extension by a construction seam . New portals and windows were inserted into the masonry, which was freed from the plaster.
The tower got a simplified shape after the destruction in the Second World War. The old, often described Marienglocke from 1268 also fell victim to the air raid in 1943. Remains of the bell are now in the Neukölln Museum . In the course of the restoration work in 1948, the church received stained glass by Charles Crodel (Christmas and baptismal windows). In the years from 1955 to 1959, the interior was adapted to the old structural forms and the pulpit altar was given its baroque version.
The church has three bronze bells.
| Pouring year | Caster | Chime | Weight (kg) | Diameter (cm) | Height (cm) | Crown (cm) | inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13th Century | unknown | H' | 230 | 87 | 76 | 15/16 | (no) |
| 1955 | Friedrich Wilhelm Schilling | d ″ | 239 | 70 | 59 | 9/10 | IN EXCELSIS DEO. |
| 1956 | e ″ | 150 | 61 | 52 | 9 | IN TERRA PAX. |
In 1826 the church received its first organ from Carl August Buchholz , and in 1888 it was rebuilt and expanded by the Dinse brothers . In 1938 the Potsdam organ builder Alexander Schuke built a new organ using old parts. Today's organ was created in 1999 by the organ building workshop Karl Schuke, also using old parts.
In the church, the church treasures are displayed in a showcase , for example
- a baptismal bowl from the 15th century,
- an old bread vessel ( ciborium ) for the Lord's Supper
- a communion chalice from 1720.
Literature (chronological)
- Kurt Pomplun : Berlin's old village churches. Hessling, Berlin 1967, p. 26.
- Günther Kühne, Elisabeth Stephani: Evangelical churches in Berlin. 2nd edition CZV, Berlin 1986, ISBN 3-7674-0158-4 , p. 86 f.
- Renate and Ernst Oskar Petras (ed.): Old Berlin village churches - The drawings by Heinrich Wohlers. Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Berlin, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-374-00543-8 , p. 14.
- Matthias Hoffmann-Tauschwitz: Old Churches in Berlin. 33 visits to the oldest churches in the western part of the city. 2nd Edition. Wichern, Berlin 1991, ISBN 3-88981-048-9 , pp. 55-62.
- Markus Cante: Churches until 1618 , in: Berlin and its buildings, Part VI: Sacred buildings. Ed .: Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin , Berlin 1997, p. 333.
- Christine Goetz and Matthias Hoffmann-Tauschwitz: Churches Berlin Potsdam. Wichern- und Morus-Verlag, Berlin 2003, p. 158.
- Klaus-Dieter Wille: The bells of Berlin (West) - history and inventory. Berlin 1987.
Web links
- To the history of Britz and the village church
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List
- Organ description
Individual evidence
- ↑ Promenades on Early History and the Middle Ages ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 809 kB), p. 6. Retrieved on February 2, 2013.
- ↑ Information on the organ
Coordinates: 52 ° 26 ′ 53 ″ N , 13 ° 26 ′ 12 ″ E