Georgenkirche (Berlin-Mitte)
The Georgenkirche in the Georgenvorstadt in the Berlin district of Mitte , a Protestant church , was the third church building in the same place, consecrated in 1898 . Like many other places of worship in Berlin, it was badly damaged in the Second World War and was not rebuilt, but blown up in 1949. The steeple of the Georgenkirche was 105 meters high, after the old dome of the Berlin Cathedral (114 meters), the largest dominant height in historic Berlin .
Building history
First George Church (before 1780)
In 1278, a Georgen Hospital was mentioned in a document - at that time it was built far outside Berlin - where the poor and the sick found help. In 1331 an associated chapel was mentioned . This was at the end of the 17th century, after the population of the area had risen to 600-700 families, upgraded to a church with its own preacher . From 1779–1780 the nave was widened and lengthened by August Gotthilf Naumann into a hall church , with the old church tower remaining.
Second George Church (1780)
A new church building was financed through an extensive fundraising campaign in which many parishioners, but also entire trades, took part. It is said that the Berlin Glass Guild agreed to donate the church windows. The new construction of the Georgenkirche was inaugurated on October 29, 1780, whereby the pastor paid special attention to the numerous donors in his sermon. According to legend, a "heavenly thanks" should have been promised especially to the glaziers. This should soon have come true when thousands of window panes broke after a tremendous storm over Berlin and the glaziers now had a good income. This church only lasted a little more than 100 years.
Third George Church (1898)
As early as 1894 it was decided to build a new church, which was carried out according to plans and under the direction of the architect Johannes Otzen . Otzen had already built the Holy Cross Church in Kreuzberg (1888) and the Luther Church in Schöneberg (1894, since 1903 "American Church"). The building was completed in 1898. Rich and colorful glass mosaics with ornaments and symbols of Christianity as well as depictions of the twelve apostles , made by the company Puhl & Wagner , covered the walls of the five-part choir.
The George Church was badly damaged by Allied air raids in World War II , but the tower was only slightly damaged. The Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg planned to secure the damaged church, but received no approval from the then East Berlin magistrate . Lawsuits before the regional court and the higher court in the eastern sector of Berlin for an injunction against the demolition were rejected. The tower of the Georgenkirche was blown up on Sunday June 18, 1949 - 51 years after its completion.
The Georgenkirchplatz (the former Georgenfriedhof ), on which the Georgenkirche stood, was northeast of Alexanderplatz . The square no longer exists because it had to give way to the redevelopment of the city center . The only reminder of the former Protestant church is the shortened Georgenkirchstraße, at the end of which is the St. Bartholomew Church and the Berlin Consistory of the Berlin-Brandenburg Church at Volkspark Friedrichshain .
Chancel, 1899
Glass mosaic of the chancel, 1898
Destroyed church building, May 1945
Bells of the third George Church in 1898
The cast steel bell of the Georgenkirche, consisting of three bells, was supplied by the Bochumer Verein and was equipped with the first known electric bell system. According to the foundry's inventory list, the set of bells with clapper, bearings, axes and chime levers cost 24,667.60 marks to manufacture .
| size | Chime | Weight (kg) |
lower diameter ( mm) |
Height (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| greatest | f o | 9553 | 2790 | 2430 |
| middle | as o | 5618 | 2354 | 2055 |
| smallest | b o | 3265 | 1988 | 1750 |
literature
- Arno Hach : Old Berlin in the mirror of its churches. Berlin 1933.
- Architects and Engineers Club Berlin e. V. (Ed.): Sacred buildings. (= Berlin and its buildings , part VI.) Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-433-01016-1 , pp. 94, 377.
- Christine Goetz , Matthias Hoffmann-Tauschwitz (eds.): Churches - Berlin - Potsdam. Guide to the churches in Berlin and Potsdam. Berlin 2003.
Web links
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List: Foundations and burials of the Georgenkirche
- Architecture museum of the TU Berlin: floor plans of the St. Georgen Church by August Gotthilf Naumann
Individual evidence
- ↑ List on kirchensprengung.de
- ↑ Map of Berlin 1: 5000 (K5 - color edition): Georgenkirchstraße , as well as building damage in 1945 northeast of Alexanderplatz , in addition Berlin around 1940: St. Georgen Church location
- ↑ Tallest structures in the area of Greater Berlin before 1945 - dominant height in the cityscape
- ↑ The wages of the glaziers. In: The Stralauer Fischzug. Legends, stories and customs from old Berlin. Verlag Neues Leben Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-355-00326-3 ; P. 140.
- ^ About the American Church in Berlin
- ↑ Evangelical Church District Berlin city center: St. Georgenkirche. Retrieved October 5, 2019 .
- ^ Report on the demolition of the steeple of the Georgenkirche on Berlin's Alexanderplatz . In: Young Church . tape 11 , no. 10/11 , July 10, 1950, pp. 397 .
- ↑ Schrey: The electrically rang bells of the Georgenkirche in Berlin. In: Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung , Volume 18, 1898, No. 8 (from February 19, 1898, online as a PDF document), p. 91 f.
- ↑ 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 ° 31 ′ 20.7 " N , 13 ° 24 ′ 59.2" E