New Apostolic Church (Berlin-Weißensee)

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Former New Apostolic Church
in Berlin-Weißensee

The New Apostolic Church Berlin-Weißensee is a former sacred building of the New Apostolic Church (NAK) in the District Church of Berlin Brandenburg . It is located at Gartenstrasse 37 in the Berlin district of Weißensee in the Pankow district and was created based on a design by Albert Gericke . The building complex was inaugurated on July 3, 1932. The church building was sold in October 2019. It stands together with community center under monument protection .

history

The first church services in Weißensee took place from 1910. In the living room of an apartment at Pistoriusstrasse 29, second floor, front building, benches and a self-made altar were set up. From 1919 on, the premises were no longer sufficient to hold church services, which is why the Bethabara Chapel of the later Stephanus Foundation in Albertinenstrasse was rented. There was an organ in the chapel , and from 1921 New Apostolic believers could also celebrate Holy Communion there. After the congregation had grown to 130 members in 1923, larger rooms again had to be considered. That is why Lössel's ballrooms at Langhansstraße 106 were rented, but a long-term church was planned. The construction of a church on the property at Gartenstrasse 37 began in 1931 and was completed in 1932. At the end of 1932 the community had 270 members.

The house was already on the list of monuments in the GDR , but there was hardly any money to maintain it. The cross symbol on the corner of the building was only attached after the political change . During the extensive renovation work in 2010, the municipality had the access to the church made barrier-free , the plaster removed and the masonry faced with clinker .

At the turn of the year 2018/2019, the communities Berlin-Weißensee and Prenzlauer Berg were merged and the church building was profaned . It was sold for almost two million euros in 2019.

architecture

The masonry building in a mix of expressionism and modernism was initially plastered , later it was clinkered . The two-storey church building rises above an L-shaped floor plan and has a usable area of ​​around 630 m². One side wing of the building is 20 meters long, the other facing Gartenstrasse, around 10 meters. Between the two is a rounded, strongly structured clinker facade corner, the middle part of which ends at the height of the ridge on the gable roof that covers the two side wings. The most striking feature of the facade is the large metal symbol of the New Apostolic parishes on the corner of the building. The parish hall is directly attached to the church body.

The sanitary facilities, which were renovated in 2017, are located in the basement of the building. There is a two-storey apartment in the parish hall.

Equipment of the church

The nave is a round hall into which daylight falls through vertical three-part windows. The windows have colored glass in diamonds designed shape. A round strip of light on the flat ceiling illuminates the room in the dark. An organ is installed on a gallery , which was also renovated during the renovation work. Towards the church, an artfully designed metal railing delimits the gallery. There are twelve rows of wooden pews with an open central aisle for church visitors .

The sanctuary is a rectangular podium-like niche in which there is a simple altar table with four liturgical vessels for worship. A simple wooden cross hangs on the whitewashed wall above the wood-paneled chancel.

literature

  • Georg Dehio : Handbuch der Deutschen Kunstdenkmäler, Volume Berlin , Deutscher Kunstverlag, Berlin 2006, p. 398
  • Institute for Monument Preservation: The architectural and art monuments in the GDR - capital Berlin II. Berlin 1987, p. 138/139

Web links

Commons : New Apostolic Church  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gericke, Albert, architect . In: Berliner Adreßbuch , 1920, part 1, p. 744. “In the law firm Kumutat & Gericke ; Ritterstrasse 86 ”.
    According to the Berlin monument list, the name Gehricke is written (with an h).
  2. ↑ a b Opportunity No. 17: Sacred building (monument) in the style of Expressionism & Modern 20s, in Berlin .
  3. ↑ Institute for Monument Preservation (Ed.): The architectural and art monuments of the GDR. Capital Berlin-I . Henschelverlag, Berlin 1984, p. 140 .
  4. ↑ The black-and-white photograph of the building in the collection Die Baudenkmale in Berlin shows the facade without signs and plastered.
  5. ↑ Weißensee community profaned

Coordinates: 52 ° 33 ′ 5.9 ″  N , 13 ° 28 ′ 4.3 ″  E