Matthew Church (Berlin-Steglitz)
The Protestant St. Matthew's Church in the Berlin district of Steglitz-Zehlendorf was built between 1876 and 1880 as a replacement for the too small and dilapidated Steglitz village church in the Berlin district of Steglitz . The three-aisled hall church between Schloßstraße 44 and Rothenburgstraße , inaugurated in 1880, was built according to plans by the architect Emil Gette . The parish hall to the west of Schloßstraße was built by Otto Rudolf Salvisberg in 1929–1930 by the contractor Richter & Skull. The church, parish hall, rectory and churchyard are under monument protection .
history
The Matthäuskirche was built on the spot where the village church from the 12th century - a branch of the parish of Giesensdorf - was located. The churchyard of the community also fell victim to the new building, for which the Steglitz cemetery on Bergstrasse in Steglitz was laid out in 1875 . The construction of a new, larger church at this location became necessary because Steglitz , which was then part of the Teltow district , and with it the number of parish members, grew rapidly. On July 1, 1893, the Steglitz parish became a parish independent of Giesensdorf. In addition to the new church, the parsonage was built on Rothenburgstrasse in 1897/1898 and a parish hall on Steglitzer Mittelstrasse in 1907. The first pastor at the new church was Arthur Wuthenow (1844–1921), after whom a small street near the church is named. Due to the growth, Predigtstätten were spun off from the Steglitz parent community at the beginning of the 20th century, for which separate churches were built in 1911/1912 in Südende and 1914–1919 on Friedrichsruher Platz. In 1950, as part of the reorganization of the old Kölln Land I parish, the entire parish of Steglitz was dissolved; the preaching places became independent church congregations as Mark and Luke congregations
The constant growth of the community made it necessary to build another community hall in 1930. In the absence of building land, it was placed in front of the church in a U-shape according to plans by the architect Rudolf Salvisberg.
During the time of National Socialism , the (Groß) -Steglitz parish with around 100,000 parishioners was the largest parish of the Evangelical Church of the Old Prussian Union with eleven parish offices. The clashes of the church struggle between the richly loyal "German Christians" and the members of the opposition Confessing Church were also carried out in the Matthäuskirche. This is where the confessing pastor, co-founder of the pastors' emergency association and employee at the illegal church college lic. Theodor Moldaenke and the NSDAP member Pastor Werner Rogge opposite
During the Second World War, a reserve was in a wing of the Municipal House infirmary of the Wehrmacht established. On March 1, 1945, almost all church windows were destroyed by pressure waves in an Allied air raid . The church then served as a furniture store for the destroyed surrounding apartments. Only on July 18, 1943, services were held again in the church. The church tower and attic survived another air raid with incendiary bombs in 1944 without major damage
After the end of the Second World War, on Pentecost Sunday 1945, the renewed church leadership, which had grown out of the Confessing Church, presented itself to the congregation “in an unforgettable service” in St. Matthew's Church. In 1963 another congregation was spun off from the Matthäus congregation: On October 1st, the Patmos congregation in Treitschkestrasse became an independent congregation. In 2002, the Matthäus congregation had around 5,360 members, had two parish offices and runs a daycare center and a kindergarten .
Outstanding pastors at the Matthäuskirche
From the ranks of pastors working at the Matthäuskirche, two personalities stand out: The confessional pastor lic. Who died on October 3, 1947 at the age of 68. Theodor Moldaenke, who was appointed to the parish in 1917, and, after the Second World War , Wolfgang G. Friedrich, who came from East Prussia , was at home in the parish from 1950 to 1973 and then took care of the excursionist church of St. Peter and Paul in Nikolskoe in retirement .
Special services in the Matthäuskirche
On February 6, 1967, the funeral service for the deceased Bishop of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg, Otto Dibelius , took place.
The successor of Bishop Dibelius, Bishop Kurt Scharf , was retired from his active service with a service on January 15, 1977 .
In 2009 the funeral service for the biblical scholar Walter Schmithals took place in the church .
Building
The construction site required a system that deviated from the usual orientation: the altar faces northwest, the tower faces southeast. The floor plan resembles a cross with its central building . The nave is 37 meters long, the transept has a length of 29 meters. The clear height is 13.5 meters. The crossing allows the ribs of the star vault to rise mightily from the richly structured pillar profiles and come together at a height of 20 meters. A strongly accentuated triumphal arch leads to the choir (chancel), which is three steps higher. The nave up to the tower is just as long as the crossing, the cross arms of the cross are only half as long. As a result, the church makes a closed, consolidated impression; it looks not dissimilar to a central building. The structural parts are made of brick joint construction and the window walls are plastered. The wooden organ and side elevations blend in inconspicuously with the large room and do not impair its effect.
In 1957 the church was renovated by the architect Gabler. As part of the renovation and redesign, the windows of the sacristy were first renewed in 1957 by the Hamburg artist Götz Loepelmann . This was followed in 1959 by the altar window depicting a scene from the Revelation of John the Steglitz glass artist Erich Waske . In 1967 the two windows designed as a triptych above the side galleries by the artist Erhardt Klonk with the themes of 'Baptism' and ' Last Supper ' followed. In 1958 the church received a new organ from the Walcker company in Stuttgart .
The exterior of the church is closely based on medieval Brandenburg brick Gothic , as it was understood at the time. The tower is 68 meters high, the helmet alone without a cross 20 meters. The thrift, however, forced the tower to be made slimmer than it was intended. This makes it appear even higher and, as a landmark of old Steglitz, protrudes far over the narrow house fronts. In it hung three cast steel bells that were cast by the Bochum Association in 1919 . The church has had new bronze bells since 2018.
In 2014 the church tower threatened to collapse. In 2017 the church was closed for several months in order to renew the heating, electrics and lighting technology.
| Chime | Weight (kg) |
Diameter ( cm) |
Height (cm) |
inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| c ' | 1810 | 170 | 125 | BE TRUE UNTIL DEATH. OFF. JOH. 2.10 |
| e ' | 940 | 140 | 104 | WE ARE OPPRESSED + BUT WE DON'T COME AROUND + KOR. 4.9 + |
| fis' | 870 | 124 | 95 | THE LIGHT HAS ALWAYS RISK UP FOR THE RIGHT + PS. 97.11 |
literature
- Günther Kühne, Elisabeth Stephanie: Evangelical Churches in Berlin , Berlin 1978.
- Klaus-Dieter Wille: The bells of Berlin (West). History and inventory , Berlin 1987.
- Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin: Berlin and its buildings. Part VI. Sacred buildings , Berlin 1997.
- Christine Goetz , Matthias Hoffmann-Tauschwitz: Churches Berlin Potsdam , Berlin 2003.
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of the German art monuments. Band Berlin, Munich / Berlin 2006.
Web links
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List
- Internet presence of the Matthäus-Kirchengemeinde
- www.gedenkenafeln-in-berlin.de
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Günther Kühne, Elisabeth Stephani: Evangelical Churches in Berlin. CZV Verlag Berlin 1978, p. 220 ff.
- ↑ Dr. Heidemarie Oehm: Church fight in Steglitz 1933-1945. Retrieved August 24, 2020
- ↑ Description of the building (part 2: reference to the design of the church window) . In: Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung , March 3, 1883, pp. 88 and 89, accessed on December 16, 2012
- ↑ a b c Detailed history of the community . Retrieved August 24, 2020
- ^ Church official gazette of the ecclesiastical province of Berlin-Brandenburg. Edited on behalf of the Evangelical Bishop of Berlin Brandenburg. Berlin-Dahlem October 20, 1945, p. 1
- ^ Memorial service for Walter Schmithals.
- ^ Building description (Part 1: Orientation of the Church). In: Centralblatt der Bauverwaltung , March 3, 1883, pp. 77 ff., Accessed on December 16, 2012
- ↑ Hildegard Vollmer: From the history of our church window , in: 125 years Evangelical Matthäuskirche Berlin-Steglitz. Berlin 2005, p. 23 f.
- ↑ Our church bells | Ev. Matthaeus congregation Berlin Steglitz. Accessed December 15, 2018 (German).
- ↑ Church closed Dilapidated Steglitz St. Matthew Church is to become an energetic model church. In: Der Tagesspiegel , April 27, 2017
Coordinates: 52 ° 27 '22 " N , 13 ° 19' 5.5" E