First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berlin
The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berlin is located at Wilhelmsaue 112 in the Berlin district of Wilmersdorf in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district , and forms the center of this community of Christian scientists . The building complex built by Otto Bartning between 1936 and 1937 is a listed building .
history
Christian Science was founded in 1879 by Mary Baker Eddy . From 1896 Christian scientists gained a foothold in Germany. The first Berlin branch church followed on 20 September 1900. In the first years after the founding of the church services were first in private homes and later in schools and halls in the 1920s in the premises of the old Berlin Philharmonic in the Köthener Street held since April 1932 in the Bach Hall on Magdeburger Platz . In 1929 the parish acquired the plot of land at Wilhelmsaue 112. The foundation stone of the church building was not laid until September 17, 1936, and the first service was held there towards the end of 1937. The nave at that time offered space for around 1000 people, the current one for around 800. Under National Socialism , Christian Scientists were banned in 1941 and their property was confiscated. The house was destroyed in 1943 during World War II. After the end of the war, the Christian Scientists held services again in different halls in Berlin. The church property with the ruins was returned to the community. Under the direction of Otto Bartning, the remains of the building were secured as early as 1950, and the actual reconstruction began in May 1956 in collaboration with the architect Kurt Bornemann. The first service took place on July 7, 1957. The reconstruction costs were raised by the parish through voluntary contributions and donations. After eradication of the last mortgage the church building was on Dec. 28, 1969 officially opened .
The Christian Scientists are a corporation under public law and a member of the general association Christian Science and the working group of churches and religious societies in Berlin.
building
During the reconstruction the construction was simplified considerably. The façade of the club building, built using a closed construction method , on a trapezoidal floor plan jumps back behind the building line in the width of the nave . In front of this central part is the arcaded open vestibule, from which the entrances to the anteroom of the church extend. The stairwells , which are fully glazed towards the street, are located in the side sections .
The building on the street contains a reading room , a large room for the Sunday school and rooms for the administration. On the rear property there is a hall church on a parabolic floor plan. Visible from the inside, directly under the gable roof and half of the spherical cap above the apse, there is a wooden ceiling. The nave looks like a basilica due to the surrounding corridor and the upper aisles . The hall is also lit by ribbon windows in the corridor above the wood-clad walls. In the almost semicircular apse there is a pedestal on which a pulpit stands for the two readers of the sermon . The church pews rise slightly towards the rear. The organ with wooden organ pipes is located above the wooden paneling on the apse's walkway, behind the organ prospect , the console is next to the pedestal. Additional seats are available on a gallery above the anteroom.
literature
- Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin: Berlin and its Buildings, Part VI, Sacred Buildings, Berlin 1997
- Karl-Heinz Metzger: Churches, mosques and synagogues in Wilmersdorf. Berlin 1986.
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments. Band Berlin. Munich / Berlin 2006.
Web links
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List with further information
- First Church of Christ, Scientist, Berlin (Wilmersdorf)
Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 6.4 " N , 13 ° 19 ′ 16.7" E