Neue Kirche, Berlin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids New Church, colloquially "German Cathedral" |
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Neue Kirche; colloquially "Deutscher Dom"
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The New Church on Gendarmenmarkt, seen from north.
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| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Profaned since its reconstruction originally a Reformed (i.e. Calvinist) and Lutheran simultaneum, 1830s?–1943 united Protestant (Prussian Union) |
| District | March of Brandenburg ecclesiastical province, Kirchenkreis Berlin Stadt I (deanery) |
| Province | last: Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union |
| Location | |
| Location | Friedrichstadt, a locality of Berlin |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Martin Grünberg (design), Giovanni Simonetti (church construction 1701–8); Carl von Gontard (design); Georg Christian Unger (tower construction 1781–85); Johann Wilhelm Schwedler (design); Hermann von der Hude, Julius Hennicke (new prayer hall 1881–82); Otto Lessing (exterior sculptures 1885); Manfred Prasser, Roland Steiger and Uwe Karl (outside reconstruction 1977–81) |
| Completed | 9 April 1708, 1882 (new prayer hall), reconstruction 1988 |
The New Church (called Neue Kirche in German) is a famous building in Berlin, Germany. People often call it the "German Cathedral" (Deutscher Dom). It's located in a beautiful square called Gendarmenmarkt, right across from the French Church of Friedrichstadt.
The church was built for people who spoke German and followed either the Lutheran or Calvinist (Reformed) Christian faiths. This was different from the French Church next door, which was for French-speaking Calvinists. The name "German Cathedral" came from its German-speaking members and its tall, domed tower. Even though it looks like a cathedral, it's not a real one because it never had a bishop in charge.
The New Church was badly damaged during World War II. It was rebuilt and finished in 1988. Today, it's no longer used as a church. Instead, it's a museum about German parliamentary history.
Contents
Building the New Church
The first New Church was built between 1701 and 1708. It was designed by Martin Grünberg, and Giovanni Simonetti oversaw the construction. This was the third church built in Friedrichstadt, a new part of Berlin that started in 1688.
- The ruler at the time, the Prince-Elector, was a Calvinist. So, he first planned for only a Calvinist church.
- But many Lutherans also moved into the area.
- Because of this, the New Church became a "Simultaneum" in 1708. This means it was used by both Calvinist and Lutheran groups at the same time.
The land for the church used to be a cemetery for Huguenots. These were French Protestants who came to Berlin for safety. The first church building had a unique five-sided shape with rounded sections. Inside, it had a typical Protestant setup with the altar and pulpit combined.
Adding the Famous Tower
In 1780, a famous architect named Carl von Gontard started designing and building a tall tower next to the church. He also designed a similar tower for the French Church nearby. These towers were inspired by a church in Paris called Sainte-Geneviève (now the Panthéon). The idea was to make Gendarmenmarkt look like a famous square in Rome, Italy.
Sadly, the tower of the New Church collapsed while it was still being built! So, Georg Christian Unger was hired to finish Gontard's design.
- The tower was decorated with statues created by Christian Bernhard Rode. These statues showed characters from the Old and New Covenant (parts of the Bible).
- The very top of the dome had a statue that meant "victorious virtue." Today, this statue is a copy made after the war.
- A carving on the front of the church shows the story of Paul of Tarsus becoming a Christian.
In 1817, many Reformed and Lutheran churches in Prussia, including the two groups at the New Church, joined together. They formed a larger organization called the Evangelical Church in Prussia.
A Place in History
The New Church became an important place in Prussian history.
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On March 22, 1848, a sad event happened here. The coffins of 183 Berliners who died during the March Revolution were brought to the church. This revolution was a time when people protested for more rights and freedom.
- An Evangelical pastor, a Catholic priest, and a rabbi (a Jewish religious leader) all spoke to the crowd outside the church.
- Afterward, a large crowd followed the coffins to the graves.
In 1881, the old prayer hall of the church was very old and had to be torn down. Hermann von der Hude and Julius Hennicke built a new one. It was designed in a style called "neobaroque" by Johann Wilhelm Schwedler. Otto Lessing designed six statues for the top part of this new hall. The new prayer hall opened on December 17, 1882.
By 1934, the groups from the New Church joined with another church, Jerusalem's Church. Today, after more mergers, they are part of the Evangelical Congregation in the Friedrichstadt. For their services, they now use the French Church across the square and "Luke's Church" in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
Destruction and Rebuilding
In 1943, during the bombing of Berlin in World War II, the New Church was almost completely destroyed. It took many years to rebuild it, from 1983 to 1996.
- While it was being rebuilt, the German government bought the building and the land.
- When it was finished in 1996, it was no longer a church.
- It reopened as a museum for the Bundestag (Germany's parliament). The museum tells the story of how Germany developed its parliamentary democracy.
The two original church groups of the New Church also shared cemeteries with the Jerusalem's Church groups. Some of these cemeteries are now part of a larger group of six historical cemeteries in Berlin. They are located in Berlin-Kreuzberg.
Famous People Connected to the Church
Some well-known people were members of the New Church or were buried there:
- E. T. A. Hoffmann
- Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff (an architect)
- Antoine Pesne (a painter)
See also
In Spanish: Catedral alemana (Berlín) para niños
