New Westend Church
Inaugurated on April 3, 1960 Protestant Church New West with free-standing clock tower in the Eichenallee 47 in Berlin district Westend the district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf , designed by Konrad forecast and Karl Hebecker is under monument protection . The architects integrated it into an existing building ensemble .
history
The Evangelical Congregation Neu-Westend was created on April 1, 1957 by splitting off from the Epiphany Congregation . Immediately after the Second World War , church services took place temporarily in the hall of the Raußendorff-Stift, in the Olympia cinema in Preußenallee 6 and in the chapel at the Heerstraße cemetery . The community work in Neu-Westend relocated to Eichenallee in autumn 1951.
The church building stands at the interface between the Alt-Westend district, built in the 19th century, and the Neu-Westend district . Before and after the Second World War, mostly multi-storey apartment buildings were added. Branitzer Platz , which was called Kirchplatz until 1897, was initially planned as the site for a church building . The city of Charlottenburg at that time, however, rejected its development.
According to plans by Rudolf Schwarz, a makeshift church hall was built at Eichenallee 51, a simple masonry structure with a gable roof and narrow arched windows . In 1955, the community center was expanded according to plans by Konrad Sage and Karl Hebecker. In the years 1958–1960, a church building with a capacity for 500 visitors was built according to the designs of the same architects . The community center was later completed by other buildings.
Building description
The architects used the parabola and the polygon as the basic elements for the Neu-Westend Church .
Exterior design
The church hall is a reinforced concrete - skeleton . The trapezoidal floor plan becomes a heptagon because the base is bevelled on the northeast corner and its leg is drawn in on the southeast side. The copper trapezoidal gable roof, which protrudes over the nave on the south side, tapers from the roof ridge to the eaves . A triangular, deeply drawn roof surface is flanged on the southwest side. On the sloping roof surface in the north-east of the nave, a total of ten triangular dormer windows are arranged next to and on top of each other, through whose windows the morning sun falls on the altar . A wall made of exposed aggregate concrete shields the church door area with its black-framed glass front on the south side facing the street. The roof overhang protects the forecourt and the external access to the gallery . The gable of the west wall is glazed with 15 mutually displaced triangles above the level of the ground floor ; they form the main source of daylight. In contrast, the gable in the east is hung with copper plates throughout.
The bell tower is inserted on the road between the church and the kindergarten. Its substructure consists of precast concrete parts in exposed concrete , above is the bell cage , which is covered by four triangular, interlocked metal bodies open at the bottom. In 1958, a bronze bell consisting of three bells was installed by Petit & Gebr. Edelbrock . The belfry was completed in 1955, but the tower base was not erected until 1958/1959. The sound propagation was improved by the raised bells .
| Chime | Weight (kg) |
Diameter (cm) |
Height (cm) |
inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a ′ | 400 | 91 | 73 | BE MERRY IN HOPE. |
| H | 300 | 80 | 66 | PATIENT IN MIRACLE. |
| b ′ | 180 | 66 | 57 | KEEP ON PRAYER. |
The tower had to be demolished in 1993 due to structural damage. In 1994 the substructure was restored true to the original, the bell carrier was used again unchanged.
On Christmas Eve there has been a tower blowing on the tower late in the evening since 1959 . Several hundred visitors usually come to the church for this event.
Interior
The inside looks like a shell . The reinforced concrete skeleton consists of seven inclined columns and beams staggered in height from east to west . The roof surface visible from the inside is unplastered, as is the supporting wall for the gallery and its underside. The terrazzo floor is patterned.
On the north side are the principal pieces . The wall behind the slightly raised altar and the lower surfaces of the other walls are clad with African mansonia wood. Behind the altar is the sacristy, separated by a wall . The main entrance gives access to the bridal hall, which also serves as a winter church . In the east wall of the bridal hall there are triangular, glazed wall openings and a door.
The church pews are arranged at ground level on the right-hand side, viewed from the altar, while on the left-hand side from the altar area a staircase with tribune-like rows of seats rises to the gallery , which extends with its rows of seats over the entire width of the south side. The gallery can also be reached from the outside via an open staircase on the street side.
The organ is located slightly higher east of the altar and pulpit in front of the north-east wall, where the chairs for the choir members are also located .
organ
The arrangement of the organ in the area of the chancel corresponds to the recommendation of the Wiesbaden program , one of the early attempts at reforming the Protestant church building, according to which the organ and singer stage should be placed "in front of the community". It was consecrated in March 1966. In place of today's organ, there was initially a small instrument from the Walcker company with two manuals , a pedal and eleven registers , which could not meet the tonal requirements of the large room. In 1965, an organ corresponding to the size of the room was also commissioned from the Walcker organ building company. The subsequent installation of a larger organ partially obstructs the triangular windows in the northeastern roof area. The new organ has 25 stops on main plant , swell and pedal mechanical key action , one each from the game table from freely adjustable Tremulant for each keyboard and electro-pneumatic control register.
Furnishing
Everything that is used for worship comes almost exclusively from the building period, designed by the architects themselves. The high pulpit is located in the main room next to the altar. This is increased by three steps, behind it a shiny silver cross hangs on the wall. Additional equipment includes a baptismal stand with a baptismal font facing the center aisle , a desk in the north-west corner and benches for the parishioners.
literature
- Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin: Berlin and its buildings. Part VI. Sacred buildings. Berlin 1997.
- Günther Kühne, Elisabeth Stephanie: Evangelical churches in Berlin. Berlin 1978.
- Christine Goetz , Matthias Hoffmann-Tauschwitz: Churches Berlin Potsdam. Berlin 2003.
- Klaus-Dieter Wille: The bells of Berlin (West). History and inventory. Berlin 1987.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 31 ′ 3.7 ″ N , 13 ° 15 ′ 47 ″ E