Church To the Holy Martyrs of Africa

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Church To the Holy Martyrs of Africa

The former Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Martyrs of Africa is located at Schwebelstraße 22 in the Berlin district of Lichtenrade in the Tempelhof-Schöneberg district . It was 1975-1977 by Hans skull built the community center by Hermann Jünemann was already 1967. The building complex , a reinforced concrete skeleton in the architectural style of the post-war modernism , is under monument protection .

history

The impetus for its own parish in Lichtenrade-Nord was given by the Catholics who moved from old building areas in the city ​​center to newly built family-friendly rental apartments and homes in the mid-1960s . The foundation of the daughter church of Salvator took place on April 10, 1966. First of all, the congregation was a guest in the Evangelical Bonhoeffer Church on Sundays . A little later a church building association was founded. On the first Advent in 1967 the community center was opened with a provisional church service room with parish and youth rooms, ten years later the church was consecrated . As patronage were 22 Holy Martyrs selected, from 1885 to 1887 in Uganda on the pyre died. In 2004 the Kuratie To the Holy Martyrs of Africa merged with Salvator, so that in Lichtenrade there is again only the Catholic parish of Salvator. In 2008 the building was abandoned. Today the building is used as a day care center.

Building description

The model type, which was built three times in Berlin - the others are the St. Dominicus Church in Gropiusstadt and the St. Markus Church in Falkenhagener Feld - consists of a low central building on a square floor plan , which apart from the open base of a dome with a Flat roof made of concrete is covered. The dome has the shape of a truncated cone , a skeleton of 24 beams supports the aluminum roof . The lower part of the truncated cone, directly above the flat roof, is bordered by a ribbon of windows. The top surface of the truncated cone consists of a lying rose window . These churches are also referred to as " St. Melitta " by the Berliners because of the shape of the domes .

The low-rise building has windowless walls made of red-brown bricks on two opposite sides. The other two walls facing the street and courtyard are covered with thick glass between the posts and posts of the frame . In the depths of the property, connected by a pergola in exposed concrete , there are further wings of the building ensemble and the bell tower . They are grouped around the courtyard, in which there is also a fountain with the statue of Theresa von Lisieux . She is the patroness of world mission .

The pews of the church stalls are arranged in a circle around the altar , which stands below the apex of the dome. The altar island is increased by one level. It is extended by an area without benches, at the end of which a free-standing relief wall stands in front of the glass front facing the street, in which the tabernacle is integrated. In the altar there is a relic of the martyr Karl Lwanga . The entire interior, the tabernacle, the ambo and the stations of the cross were designed in concrete and bronze by Hans Wachter .

In the bell tower a 1934 cast bronze hanging bell . It weighs 135 kg, has a diameter of 64 and a height of 52 cm. It bears the inscription "REGINA PACIS" on the shoulder, and "CASTED BY THE MÄRKISCHEN GIESSEREI HENNICKENDORF B. BERLIN" on the lower part of the flank.

See also

literature

  • Christine Goetz and Matthias Hoffmann-Tauschwitz: Churches Berlin Potsdam. Berlin 2003.
  • Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin: Berlin and its buildings. Part VI. Sacred buildings. Berlin 1997.
  • Klaus-Dieter Wille: The bells of Berlin (West). History and inventory. Berlin 1987.
  • Gerhard Streicher and Erika Drave: Berlin - city and church. Berlin 1980.
  • Hilde Herrmann: Development and expansion in the diocese of Berlin. Berlin 1968.

Web links

Commons : Church To the Holy Martyrs of Africa (Berlin-Lichtenrade)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kita of Kita Sonnenblume gGmbH , accessed on November 10, 2018
  2. ↑ Day of the Lord. Catholic weekly newspaper for the Archdiocese of Berlin. No. 14, vol. 66, April 3, 2016, p. 11.

Coordinates: 52 ° 24 ′ 29.8 "  N , 13 ° 24 ′ 33"  E