Tabor Church (Berlin-Kreuzberg)
The Protestant Tabor Church in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district was built between 1903 and 1905 together with the parish and rectory according to plans by the cathedral builder Ernst Schwartzkopff. The church is a listed building . The congregation of the Taborkirche belongs to the church district Berlin Stadtmitte (KKBS) of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia (EKBO).
history
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The Petrikirche is the oldest church in the parish of Kölln-Stadt, to which Tabor belongs. The St. Sebastian's Church branched off from Petri in 1694 and has been called Luisenstadtkirche since 1862. From this in turn St. Jacobi was divided, and from this then the St. Thomas parish . Due to the population growth in Berlin, further parishes were founded. The Emmaus community was created by separating from St. Thomas. In the following years the Emmaus parish was divided into four districts: Emmaus-Mitte (still Emmaus), Emmaus-Süd (1904 Martha ), Emmaus-Nord (1905 Tabor), Emmaus-West (1911 Mount of Olives ). For 168,000 Mark had Berlin City Synod the property Taborstraße 17: acquired (then Görlitz banks 30/31). 330,000 marks were spent on the church (adjusted for purchasing power today: around 2 million euros) and 63,000 marks on the parish hall.
The Taborkirche was built between 1903 and 1905 under the direction of the Emmaus parish. The royal building officer and master builder Ernst Schwartzkopff took over the design and management of the construction work , and after his death, the royal building officer Adolf Bürckner . The foundation stone was laid on June 1, 1903. On December 20, 1905, it was inaugurated with a festive service in the presence of the imperial couple . At that time Tabor had 22,695 parish members. The parish decree of December 1905 made Tabor an independent municipality on February 1, 1906.
The church building was not badly damaged after the end of the Second World War , and the interior was almost completely preserved. The first service took place on May 6, 1945. First of all, the greatest damage to the roof was temporarily removed. However, the complete renovation of the church was not celebrated until September 1958. The former 71 meter high tower has had no helmet over the upper octagonal bell chamber since 1945 . It had to be removed due to damage after a bomb attack .
building
The masonry, which is faced with red bricks, is designed in style elements of the Brandenburg brick Gothic of the 14th century. The asymmetric facade , with plaster dazzle and a central part provided übergiebelten is, from a high clock tower and a smaller stair tower flanked. Residential houses are directly adjacent to the church. From the originally three-part main entrance, which can be reached via an outside staircase , the side portals were closed by masonry. Two rooms were separated from the former portal vestibule.
The interior of the church is characterized by a central star vault with a circular skylight . The former five large altar windows in the apse were destroyed at the end of the Second World War. Among other things, they showed the transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor . The wall paintings in the two lateral galleries have been preserved. A picture of the disciples on the way to Emmaus illustrates the togetherness with the mother church.
Of the Berlin Orgelbauanstalt Brothers Dinse produced organ is still intact. During the First World War , the tin organ pipes Prospect were used to manufacture ammunition. They were not replaced until 1922. In the course of time, further modifications were made.
The triad ringing of the bells has been completely preserved to this day, cast in 1905 by the Bochum Association . The ringing in the bell chamber with a square floor plan (4 m side length) cost 5,363 Marks to manufacture including bobbins, bearings, axles and bell levers (adjusted for purchasing power in today's currency: around 34,200 euros).
| size | Chime | Weight (kg) |
lower diameter ( mm) |
Height (mm) |
inscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| greatest | c | 1920 | 1673 | 1480 | A SOLID CASTLE IS OUR GOD . |
| middle | it | 1230 | 1430 | 1230 | THE WORD YOU SHOULD LET STAHN. |
| smallest | total | 850 | 1260 | 850 | THE REICH MUST REMAIN US. |
After the First World War, four large plaques of honor designed by the sculptor Rhades for the more than 600 fallen soldiers of the community were added below the side galleries, whose inscriptions are not devoid of the glorification of the war. In contrast, the artist Emil Stolterfoht created a window in the church vestibule after the Second World War , which makes the destructive violence of war clear.
The altar table made of reddish sandstone still exists in its original substance, but without the two side columns made of black serpentine stone . The ornate altarpiece , also made of red sandstone, was removed and replaced with a large wooden cross. The wooden sounding board of the pulpit was also removed. The font , also made of black serpentine stone , is still there. A painting with reference to the Tabore Gospel in the arch of the apse was lost during the renovation.
The interior was redesigned in 1992. In the area below the organ loft, a new, easily heated room was separated by a glass wall so that the entire interior was not always used. The first pews were removed and replaced with mobile seating. Because the church service was to take place there, especially in winter, the project initially ran under the name Winter Church . But there were also various kinds of events planned. After a naming competition, the community gave this room the name Taborium , a contraction of the words Tabor and Atrium. The interior renovations of the church were completed in 1998 after the right aisle was separated by a metal glass wall. There were two rooms for the parish and parish offices.
At the beginning of 2008 the chancel was redesigned. On the wall behind the altar, a special technique was used to hang the illuminated cross in the night by the wood artist Ingo Andratschke from Chemnitz. The base is made of wood, from which the image-giving structure is carved out. This gives the surface a three-dimensional structure. In order not to obstruct the view of the new altarpiece, the large wooden cross from the 1960s was replaced by a smaller one.
The street facade consists of rich shapes that have largely been preserved. The planning drawing differs in some details from the actual construction. Instead of a large rose window with many leaves , an eight-pass with a central circle was made.
A decorative element above the main portal is a mosaic with the theme of the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor , which illustrates the name of the church. At the top of the gable is a blessing Christ, created by the sculptor Julius Wucherer. The floors above the parish hall will be used as apartments and offices after the roof extension has been completed.
Church building 1905
Altar and apse
Taborium and organ gallery
Main entrance
literature
- Klaus-Dieter Wille: The bells of Berlin (West). History and inventory. Berlin 1987.
- Andrea Kleist: Tabor approaching a community. Berlin 1992.
- Architects and Engineers Association of Berlin: Berlin and its buildings. Part VI. Sacred buildings. Berlin 1997.
- Klaus-Ekkehard Gahlbeck: The Taborkirche in Berlin-Kreuzberg and the Protestant Tabor community. Berlin 2003.
- Festschrift 100 years of Ev. Tabor parish. Berlin 2005.
- Georg Dehio : Handbook of German Art Monuments, Volume Berlin. Munich / Berlin 2006.
Web links
- Entry in the Berlin State Monument List with further information
- Evangelical Tabor congregation in Berlin-Kreuzberg
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b compilation of the bells delivered to Berlin and the surrounding area ; Bochum Association, around 1900. In the archive of the Köpenick Church of St. Josef, viewed on August 6, 2019.
Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 48.2 " N , 13 ° 26 ′ 45.9" E