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Curiosity always seems to get the best of me!
Spying a church steeple down the street while walking back from the East Side Gallery in Berlin, I found my feet turning automatically in that direction.
Not wanting to miss something good, even though I was trying to make it back to my hotel for my dinner plans, I thought, “Just a quick look“.
Though the church’s interior wasn’t open for inspection, I did learn quite a bit about the property from the signboards posted at the front and back of the church’s property.
This was more than a church…this was about an entire square.
Architect August Soller, whose grave can be spied at St. Michael’s, was tapped to design the city’s third oldest Roman Catholic church. With plans completed in 1845, construction commenced six years later with much influence from Soller’s travels in Italy; mainly churches in Padua and Venice. So, when you spy St. Michael’s, as it was originally meant to be seen, with its view beyond the water feature (the remains of the Luisenstadt Canal) its conception from Venice’s churches along their waterways can be understood, as I was about to discover.
Completed in 1861, St. Michael’s served as a garrison church for Catholic soldiers due to its location near the border between Berlin-Mitte locality and Kreuzberg and was established by King Frederick William IV. After damage during World War II, it was partially reconstructed in the 1950’s. Now protected as a historical monument in Berlin, you can still see the wounds it sustained during the “Bombing of Berlin”, as you walk around the exterior of the church.
Though the church’s original walls and dome remain, the roof and the interior, including its organ, was destroyed. As I stood before the church’s entrance, it was amazing to be able to see the surviving dome through the portal window below the bell tower. Beneath the window is a mosaic depicting the Annunciation which surprisingly survived the bombing along with the church’s facade and entrance.
Long before the church’s completion, an idea to build a waterway through Luisenstadt was conceived. The idea was shelved until 1840, when the King of Prussia made the decision that a canal should connect the Landwehrkanal and the River Spree to reduce travel on the latter. With construction beginning in 1948, the first ship sailed along the waterway, passing St. Michael’s church in 1952, before turning at Engelbecken, the canal basin.
Despite the King’s determination in fulfilling the canal project, many years later, in 1926, the decision to fill in the Luisenstädt Canal was made due to noise, odor and lack of use. The Engelbecken, was then developed as a park under the guidance of landscape architect Erwin Barth. Though Barth’s main desire was to keep the canal, an idea not popular with the city’s government, he finally succeeded in developing the Engelbecken, surrounded by a green space. The canal basin became the Angel’s pool, a pond for swans surrounded by gardens.
Making my way across the Michaelkirchplatz, I stood on the raised viewing platform, anxious for a better look at the church, however, looking down at the Angel’s pool and the adjacent garden’s I anxiously searched for the steps leading to the area.
Cafe Am Engelbecken sits at the canal’s original water level, a relaxing spot to take in an afternoon tea or aperitif. Walking along the pool, lined with hedges and greenery, I glanced across at the picturesque and precise buildings which spread out along the perimeter. Pergolas hover above the path, awaiting the new growth of the warmer weather and I could only imagine how beautiful my walk would be during the summer when the Virginia creeper, climbing ross and clematis cling tightly to the structures. Arriving at the far end of the pool, it was then that I understood Soller’s idea of St. Michael’s position on a waterway, much like the Venetian churches.
This is the best view of St. Michael’s church!
The rose gardens, destroyed by the construction of the Berlin Wall, were excavated in 1993 by the Berlin Historic Gardens Conservation and a path runs down past the Oranienplatz between both Legiendamm and Leuschnerdamm. The path is highlighted by the Indische Brunnen, an eastern-style fountain also called the Hindu Springs. Although I exited at Oranienplatz, the path continues all the way down to Böcklerpark.
My detour to St. Michael’s church was definitely worth the eventual mad dash to my dinner plans. Very interested to learn about its and the surrounding area’s history, I now have another mission to see the interior of this historic church, which probably will not warrant, just a quick look!
I’m blocking off the whole afternoon!
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St. Michael’s Church and St. Michaelkirchplatz
- Address: Michaelkirchpl. 15, 10179 Berlin, Germany
- Hours: Park open 24 hours, church hours unknown
- Admission: free
- Getting There: Metro, Heinrich-Heine-Strasse and Kottbusser Tor stations
After paying my admission, I donned my audio guide earphones and entered the the first stop on the tour, the Sermon church.
The chancel takes center stage and my eye was initially drawn to it as it sits high above the congregation and is surrounded by glass paintings representing the Nativity, the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. The altar, made of white marble and onyx presides before the gilded Apostles’ Screen designed by Friedrich Schinkel. The beautifully carved pulpit to the left of the chancel is also particularly noteworthy.
Turning to the left side of the church, the great Sauer organ was galvanizing with its massive size and artistry. Installed during the building’s construction, it is the largest preserved organ in its original state and is considered to be the largest in Germany with 7269 pipes and 113 registers.
Venturing outside of the Sermon church’s main area, I took notice of the crypts located under the organ gallery. Though there are many others within the cathedral, these are the burial sites of Kurfürster Friedrich Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, his wife Kurfürstin Dorothea, German Emperor, Friedrich III and Kurfürster Johann Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg.
Opposite the organ gallery, I ventured into the Baptismal and Matrimonial Church. The entrance, flanked by ornate sarcophagi and created by sculptor Andreas Schlüter, led to a barrel vaulted church. This more intimate space, was adorned by an altarpiece, The Outpouring Of The Holy Spirit, considered to be one of the most significant pieces of artwork in the cathedral and an organ built by the Potsdam company Alexander Schuke, the first to be built after the Second World War.
Heading upward on the Imperial Staircase, I walked slowly, inspecting the multicolored marble and the stone from the Lahn region used in construction as well as the unique candelabra and ceiling crowns. Adorning the ceilings and wall spaces are paintings displaying stories from the life of Jesus Christ and parables. Take note of the “Nazareth” painting hanging opposite the staircase. The original, by Albert Hertel, was lost during the war, however, this reconstruction was painted by Brandenburg restorer and painter Ekkehard Koch.
On the upper level, there is a museum which offers an architectural history on the cathedral with large scale models of wood and plaster. Many of these show some of the original designs by Friedrich Stüler, which were never realized.
Heading higher…270 steps…I was able to lay my eyes on some of the best views of Berlin from the dome. Fascinating statues lined the wide balustrade and I could see famous landmarks such as City Hall, the Humboldt Forum, Museum Island and the television tower.
My final stop was on the lower level of the cathedral, which is the burial place of the Hohenzollern dynasty who ruled Prussian since the Middle Ages and the German Empire from 1871 until 1918. Though the most important kings and emperors are buried near their favorite castles in Berlin, the immense space is lined with beautifully carved tombs and statues from the influential family.
My visit completed, I made my way from the cathedral back into Lustgarten Park. Facing the building, I stopped and gazed up at the domes, my eyes drawn to the spot where I had stood just before. Equally impressive from the outside and the inside, the Berliner Dom is one of the most stunning churches I have visited. An amazing place of history and architecture, it ranks high on the lists of attractions in the once divided city. It now acts as a place which brings people together…a place of worship and a place of tourism.
After our visit to the Brandenburg Gate, we headed west on Strasse des 17 Juni (17 June Street) and found ourselves at the entrance of the memorial which is located in the Großer Tiergarten, a large public park and a place where Adolf Hitler had plans to build Welthauptstadt Germania. Impressively flanked by two Red Army ML-20 152mm gun-howitzer artillery pieces and two T-34 tanks, the notable monument, a curved stoa, is topped by a towering statue of a Soviet soldier, whose arm is in a position to symbolize the Red Army’s putting down of the Nazi German state. A Cyrillic inscription under the soldier translates into “Eternal glory to heroes who fell in battle with the German fascist invaders for the freedom and independence of the Soviet Union”.
As we walked the property, admiring the tanks, a bunny hopped out from the bushes. A short while later, a fox surprised us as he emerged from the same bushes. Was the fox searching for the bunny? Though the fatalities of the war ended many years ago, this was a reminder of how things once were…when there were those who were pursued and killed…
