Holy Spirit Church (Berlin-Moabit)
The Protestant Holy Spirit Church, built between 1905 and 1906 according to plans by August Dinklage and Ernst Paulus , on the acute-angled corner property Perleberger Strasse 36 / Birkenstrasse 60/61 forms the urban center of the Stephankiez in the Berlin district of Moabit . On 19 December 1906, the church in the presence of Empress was Auguste Victoria inaugurated . In the Second World War , the Holy Spirit Church suffered very little damage. Only the colored glass windows had to be replaced. The church in historicizing Gothic style, reminiscent of Mark traditions, is a listed building . The Evangelical Church Community of the Holy Spirit belongs to the Berlin Stadtmitte (KKBS) parish of the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO).
history
The historic Holy Spirit Chapel on Spandauer Strasse in Mitte gave its name to the planned new building.
In the second half of the 19th century, the population of Moabit rose rapidly as a result of industrialization. The Johanniskirche had become too small. After the Johannis parish had built the first daughter church, the Heilandskirche , in the years 1892-1894 , a daughter church was also to be created for the Protestant Christians who lived in New Moabit.
In 1900, a competition was announced for the construction of a church on a former coal field, with the desire to erect a building in Low German brick Gothic. Since the building site was an acute-angled triangle, the usual cross shape could not be maintained. The architects Dinklage and Paulus received 1st prize for their design of a hexagonal central building and their design was implemented.
The foundation stone was laid on September 2, 1905 , and the church was consecrated on December 19, 1906. The Empress Auguste Viktoria donated a large silver-clad altar Bible with a handwritten dedication, which was stolen from the church in 1986 during construction work.
On January 16, 1907, the new Holy Spirit church was legally separated from the mother church. At that time it had around 25,000 parishioners, in 2011 the Holy Spirit congregation still had 1,511 souls. In order to be able to carry out the pastoral duties better when the number of members decreases, the five evangelical congregations in the Tiergarten region, i.e. St. Johannis, Kaiser-Friedrich-Gedächtnis, Moabit West, Erlöser, Heiland and Heilige Geist, have one on January 1, 2011 formed a common parish without giving up their independence.
building
Nave
The hexagonal neo-Gothic masonry structure , which is faced with red Rathenow bricks, has early Gothic forms. The side fronts with their steep gables contain wheel windows . The tower with its three portals forms the access to the vestibule of the church. The church interior, which previously had over 900 seats, is dominated by high pillars with acanthus capitals that support a six-part star vault . The vestibule was originally also equipped with a star vault. The parish and parish house, inaugurated on August 21, 1910, was added to the back wall of the organ choir by the architects . This created two courtyards between the church and the two sides of the street. The construction costs for the parish and parish house amounted to 178,000 marks , for the church 362,385 marks were spent.
Because heating the church was very expensive, the service took place in winter in the sacristy , which is located under the organ gallery . The sacristy was equipped with an old harmonium .
Between autumn 2010 and spring 2011, the heating was modernized and the interior of the church was rebuilt. There are now 450 places available in the church, thanks to the new underfloor heating , services can take place in the church all year round. In addition, glass walls were installed in the church, behind which the church office is on the south side and a group room on the north side. The sacristy is now used for the children's services and the harmonium is in the hall of the parish hall.
tower
The 78 meter high six-sided church tower flanked by two stair towers dominates the street corner. In it are the bells and the electric tower clock . Originally the Holy Spirit Church had three bronze bells . In the First World War , the bells were melted down for war purposes, as was the second ring in the Second World War. In 1954 the church received three cast steel bells from the Melanchthon Church on Planufer in Berlin-Kreuzberg , built by Jürgen Kröger between 1904 and 1906 , which were manufactured in 1924 by the Lauchhammer art and bell foundry . The Melanchthon Church was completely destroyed in 1944 and not rebuilt.
| Bell jar | Chime | Weight | diameter | height | inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | d ' | 1834 kg | 182 cm | 135 cm | COME TO ME ALL WHO ARE TOUGH AND LOADED, I WANT TO REFRESH YOU. |
| 2 | f | 1014 kg | 146 cm | 110 cm | IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE, YOU WILL NOT STAY. |
| 3 | a | 594 kg | 117 cm | 89 cm | SOME, SOME, SOME. |
Furnishing
According to the Wiesbaden program, the two rows of seats on the ground floor are arranged radially around the principal pieces concentrated in one place . This trend-setting structure is reminiscent of the pulpit altars in Protestant churches of the 18th century. With the Holy Spirit Church, Dinklage and Paulus created the conceptually most functional and progressive church in late Wilhelmine Berlin.
altar
The altar , which is raised on four steps, faces the entrance in a small apse . The original altar was destroyed by Russian soldiers in 1945 , as was the cross that was originally there. In autumn 1945 the altar was rebuilt from sealed bricks. At the top, it carries a thick oak board on four iron feet on which a cross stands.
pulpit
The octagonal pulpit in Gothic form is mounted on a gallery above the altar. There are five open Gothic arches between the altar and the pulpit, which are flanked by the sculptures John the Evangelist and John the Baptist . On the lower altar steps a little to one side is the wooden baptismal table carved in Gothic style . On the other side of the altar there is a lectern decorated with carvings in the Gothic style . The altar, the pulpit and the lectern are decorated with paraments in the respective liturgical colors .
organ
The organ from 1906 is designed in a neo-Gothic style. It rises above the altar and the pulpit on a gallery opposite the tower gallery above the entrance to the church. Thus it is a typical example of an altar organ . The instrument was built by the master organ builder Walcker (Opus 1319). At the same time, Walcker erected a structurally similar instrument in the neighboring Reformation Church . During the Second World War the organ was contaminated and some pipes were stolen. A music-loving Russian officer protected the organ from further destruction. In 1952 the damage to the organ was repaired. The organ expert Karl Schuke recommended in 1957 that the oldest surviving Walcker organ in Berlin should be preserved as a memorial to its era. It was then cleaned and finally its pneumatics replaced. Further extensive cleaning work was carried out in 1980 and 1985. The instrument has 39 registers and two transmissions on three manuals and pedal . The actions are electric.
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- Coupling : III-P, II-P, IP, upper octave coupling III-I
- Playing aids : 1 free combination, hand register off, zero-setting, tutti, crescendo roller, crescendo off
literature
- Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin: Berlin and its buildings. Part VI. Sacred buildings. Berlin 1997.
- Günther Kühne, Elisabeth Stephani: Evangelical churches in Berlin. Berlin 1978.
- Hanna Materne: An attempt at a chronicle and “description of the Holy Spirit Church in Berlin Moabit”. Berlin 2006.
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments. Band Berlin. Munich / Berlin 2006.
- Klaus-Dieter Wille: The bells of Berlin (West). History and inventory. Berlin 1987.
Web links
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List with further information
- Evangelical Holy Spirit Congregation
- Project description of the renovation and renovation measures carried out in the church space between 2010 and 2011
Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '50.7 " N , 13 ° 20' 47.9" E