Heilig-Geist-Spital (Berlin)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Holy Spirit Chapel in Berlin-Mitte

The Heilig-Geist-Spital was one of three hospitals in medieval Berlin - Cölln . It was located on the western side of Spandauer Straße not far from the Spandauer Tor , which no longer exists today, and was used to care for the elderly and the sick. Of the hospital's buildings, only the associated chapel has been preserved.

History of the hospital

The hospital was one of the oldest foundations in Berlin and was mentioned for the first time in 1272 in a guild letter from the bakers, according to which "the poor sanctuaries of Sankt Spiritus and Sankt Georg" should always be supplied with good bread. In 1288 the facility is also mentioned in the tailor's privilege, according to which "everyone who entered the tailoring trade had to pay one and a half pounds of candle wax to the two hospitals". The hospital was an ensemble of buildings, consisting of a house for the poor and the sick, a residential building for the hospital staff, a small chapel, a preacher's and sexton's house, a hermitage and a large garden. It was one of several hospitals (as well as the Gertraudenhospital and the Georgenhospital ) that specifically looked after the poor, the sick and the needy, and pilgrims were also offered board and lodging. The oldest surviving document relating to a donation to the hospital dates from 1313. Among other things, it states that 16 old men and 17 women were cared for in the hospital. In addition, around 1400 the City Council of Berlin maintained its farm implements and wagons on the hospital premises and had the horses looked after. In the Middle Ages, the Heilig-Geist-Spital was one of the two starting points of the pilgrimage from Berlin to Wilsnack, along with St. Mary's Church . The pilgrims made the hospital known beyond Berlin, also because "a good and strong beer was brewed here".

The hospital building was demolished in 1825 and replaced by a two-story new building.

History of the chapel

Interior view 1892

The Heilig-Geist-Kapelle belonging to the hospital was built around 1300 and is one of the oldest preserved buildings in Berlin. The chapel, first mentioned in 1313 in a deed of donation from the knight Burghard Grevelhout, is a single-storey red brick building with a field stone base. Three high windows with measure and frameworks let light into the prayer room from the sides. In 1476 the chapel was given a roof tower with a slim pointed helmet , which was removed in 1816. Around 1600 the flat ceiling was replaced by a star vault and galleries with 32 balustrade fields were built all around. In the course of time, panel paintings were placed in these fields, which are now distributed in Berlin village churches.

From 1655 until the construction of the garrison church in 1703, the chapel was used by the Berlin garrison. Catholic services were held here until 1905. In 1906 it was included as a lecture hall in the new building of the commercial college of the Berlin merchants' union, which later became part of the economics faculty of the Humboldt University in Berlin . The church furnishings such as the altar and the decorations were kept in the Nordic Museum .

During the GDR era there was a cafeteria in the building .

The chapel, which remained undamaged in World War II , was thoroughly renovated in 1978/1979, and again in 2005. It was restored to its church furnishings and is now used as the Humboldt University's ballroom for special occasions.

inner space

Vault with paintings
Entrance to the chapel with a walled-in grave slab
Mercury by Fritz Klimsch , 1907

The entrance to the chapel is from the adjacent university building, which was built as a commercial college in 1905/1906. In his foyer there is a marble sculpture of Mercury by the sculptor Fritz Klimsch , which was donated by the Berlin citizen Hermann Frenkel for the "Handelshochschule Berlin" in 1907; In 2002 the statue was restored.

At the inner entrance, a grave slab was built into the wall with inscriptions, a coat of arms and the year "1313".

The remains of the historical paintings inside the chapel were uncovered during the renovation under layers of plaster, whereby beautiful measuring and frameworks as well as old window reveals were also visible again. The floor with its historic brick slabs is also visible again after the restoration work. Modern technical installations, such as heating, audio and video presentation options, were subordinated to the effect of the building.

The chapel room itself has a single nave with the internal dimensions 16.80 meters long and 9.40 meters wide. The ceiling is made up of a ribbed vault that rests on figured wall brackets depicting animals and men with books.

facade

The chapel is integrated into the university building on its north and west sides. The east gable to Spandauer Straße and the south front to the newly created Heilig-Geist-Platz are visible, which have been redesigned several times over the course of time and no longer have their original shape.

See also

literature

  • The architectural and art monuments in the GDR, capital Berlin I ; P. 56 ff, Ed. Institute for Monument Preservation at Henschelverlag. Berlin 1984
  • Breitenfeld et al. : The Heilig-Geist-Kapelle in Berlin - history, research, restoration . Michael Imhof Verlag, 2005

Web links

Commons : Heilig-Geist-Kapelle (Berlin)  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 52 ° 31 ′ 15 ″  N , 13 ° 24 ′ 11 ″  E