Easter Church (Berlin)
The Protestant Easter Church on the corner of Samoa- and Sprengelstraße in the Berlin district of Wedding was built according to plans by the architects August Dinklage , Ernst Paulus and Olaf Lilloe .
The foundation stone was laid on May 8, 1910, and the church was consecrated on June 18, 1911 . The historicist Gothic style of the church building is reminiscent of Brandenburg traditions. After partial destruction in the Second World War , the now listed church was restored and for the harvest festival in 1953, Bishop Otto Dibelius re- inaugurated the church. The two original pyramid roofs of the rectangular tower were replaced by a simple hipped roof. The tower height has been around 40 meters since then.
history
The area between Triftstrasse and Kiautschoustrasse and Torfstrasse and Tegeler Strasse, crossed by Samoa- and Sprengelstrasse, was parceled out from 1902. In the years up to 1915, mainly rental houses were built on the plots on the newly laid streets. On April 18, 1907, the Synod of the Berlin Protestant Congregations acquired a building site with 400 square meters at the corner of Samoa and Sprengelstrasse for the church and parish hall of the new Easter congregation in Sprengelkiez , which until 1908 still belonged to the Nazareth congregation with its church on Leopoldplatz . Although the new congregation had ceded part of the area of the Nazareth congregation in 1883 to the newly founded Dankes congregation, due to the enormous increase in believers in this area, the Nazareth congregation had to transfer a part to the Capernaum congregation in 1902 and later further part for the community initially called Nazareth II to be separated. On March 16, 1908, this new Protestant church with 28,000 members was named Easter Congregation by the Royal Consistory of the Province of Brandenburg and thus recalls the resurrection of Jesus Christ , the Easter story . The most important task of the Easter congregation was to build its own church and its own parish hall. There was no architectural competition for the planning of the building, the architectural community August Dinklage and Ernst Paulus were commissioned directly. After discussing the drafts presented on September 14, 1908 in the municipal committees, the architects were given the task of redesigning the tower. The new design provided for two spiers and was submitted for approval on August 13, 1909, which the Council of Churches also gave. In addition, the 29th German Evangelical Church Conference had just decided that church buildings may be erected in the immediate vicinity of other houses with immediate effect.
The Synod initially provided 100,000 marks and later a further 100,000 marks as a grant for the construction of the church . But she refused funding for a community hall .
The expenditure for the church was 308,035.40 marks (adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency: around 1.74 million euros) and for the parish hall 129,975 marks (today: around 734,000 euros). The community raised the funding difference through donations. The organ was built in the workshop of Barnim Grüneberg from Stettin . The three cast steel bells for the church tower were cast by the Bochum Association .
During the First World War, the community was able to avert the seizure of metal objects that were needed for military armor. Because there was no interest in cast steel bells from a war economy point of view, the bells survived both world wars. In November 1943 an aerial mine destroyed the windows with the stained glass , among other things , the interior was preserved. In the last days of the Second World War, the tower dome and parts of the organ were destroyed; When it was rebuilt in 1953, the tower was given a simple hipped roof . On June 30, 1946, the first post-war service took place in the repaired church building. The pastor did not hold regular church services again until November 1948.
A new organ was installed in 1966, and the large window in the tower facing Samoastraße was reinstalled in 1969.
In May 2018, the community celebrated its 110th anniversary.
Building
The masonry structure , faced with red bricks , which fits into the block perimeter development, is dominated by a mighty tower at the intersection facing Samoa Street, with a round stair tower in front of it. The double portal is located in a large pointed arch niche with a group of windows above it. To the tower that includes solid Pfarr- and community center, whose facade by Erker , loggia is divided and a staggered fifth floor.
Although neo-Gothic motifs predominate, the architects strived for a reformed construction method with wall surfaces without many ornaments . The ground plan and elevation also do not follow medieval architecture.
Peal
On the bell floor of the tower complex are the bells, which have the following parameters:
| Chime | Weight (kg) | Diameter (cm) | Height (cm) | inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dis' | 1080 | 143 | 112 | LOVE / ONE GOD AND FATHER, ALL OF US! EPH. 6th |
| fis' | 900 | 132 | 108 | JOY / CHRIST SPEAKS: I LIVE AND YOU SHALL ALSO LIVE! EV. JOH. 14.19 |
| a ' | 465 | 106 | 87 | PEACE / BUT IF THAT, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, IT WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH. EV. JOH. 16.13 |
Interior
A pointed arched double portal leads the church visitors into the vestibule of the rectangular nave , which was converted in 1922 into a memorial hall for the approximately 600 parishioners who died in the First World War . The church hall, which is bordered on the sides by galleries , ends with a rectangular choir . Belt arches stretch from pillar to pillar , between which wooden joist ceilings are inserted. There are no vaults . The hall is lit by staggered window strips that open on the long side to Sprengelstrasse.
The rich painting in the church based on a design by August Oetken has been completely preserved. The balustrades of the galleries have colored tracery surfaces .
In the chancel there are two large wall paintings with motifs from the biblical Easter story above a painted curtain, which the painters Willy Dzubas and Theo Behrens completed in the summer of 1913. There is a frieze above the paintings depicting the Four Evangelists . According to unproven statements, the evangelist Luke is said to wear the face of the first pastor, Hermann Kottig. The altar , pulpit and baptismal font are made in the style of historicism. The carved altarpiece consists of a towering eyelash flanked by Gothic towers.
Church life
In the 2010s, the Easter congregation again had 2000 members, including long-time residents as well as newcomers such as students and young families. Under the motto “Faith Live”, it presents itself as an open congregation, the church door is open to all visitors, regardless of their beliefs. The active pastor is Thilo Haak, who also supports the Berliner Tafel (Laib & Seele) campaign in his church.
In addition, there is a church choir, Bible discussions and joint intercessions . The community works with the Sprengelhaus , an intercultural center, and also participates in the round table that promotes cultural cooperation in the neighborhood.
literature
- Franz Gottwald (Hrsg.): Heimatbuch vom Wedding . Kribe-Verlag, Berlin 1924, p. 194 .
- Günther Kühne, Elisabeth Stephani: Evangelical churches in Berlin. Christlicher Zeitschriftenverlag, Berlin 1978, ISBN 3-7674-0158-4 , pp. 295-297.
- Klaus-Dieter Wille: The bells of Berlin (West). History and inventory. Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-7861-1443-9 , p. 106.
- Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin (ed.): Sacral buildings. (= Berlin and its buildings , part VI.) Wilhelm Ernst & Sohn, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-433-01016-1 , p. 392.
- Dehio Handbook of German Art Monuments: Berlin. Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich / Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-422-03111-1 , p. 202.
- Katja Koblitz: Church around the corner. The Protestant Easter Congregation in Berlin Wedding 1908–1911. Association for Church Building and Cultural Work of the Evangelical Easter Congregation in Wedding e. V., Berlin 2008.
Web links
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List with further information
- Evangelical Easter Congregation Wedding
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 52 ° 32 ′ 29.5 ″ N , 13 ° 21 ′ 16.7 ″ E