Berlin Cathedral
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Berlin Cathedral (German: Berliner Dom) is a Lutheran cathedral in Berlin, Germany. It is located on Museum Island in the Mitte district, and was built between 1895 and 1905. Dedicated on February 27, 1905, it faces the Lustgarten (a city park) and the former site of the imperial palace, the Stadtschloss.[1]
Later the church of the Dominican Order (Schwarze Brüder), located at the south side of the castle, was used as the first cathedral. The first church at this site was a baroque cathedral by Johann Boumann, which was completed in 1747 and, in 1822, remodelled in the neoclassicist style by the Berlin architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.
In 1894, on German Emperor Wilhelm II's order, this domed building was demolished and replaced by the current cathedral designed by Julius Raschdorff. At 114 metres (374 ft) long, 73 metres (240 ft) wide and 116 metres (381 ft) tall, it was much larger than any of the previous buildings and was considered a Protestant counterweight to St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The pipe organ, built by Wilhelm Sauer, had 113 stops, including three ranks of 32' pipes on the pedal division, played by a 4-manual console.[1]
During World War II, the building was bombed by the Allies and severely damaged on May 24, 1944. A temporary roof was installed to protect what remained of the interior and in 1975 reconstruction started. The restoration of the interior was begun in 1984 and in 1993 the church reopened in an event attended by Chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl and televised nationwide in Germany. During reconstruction, the organ was fully restored, although the building's original design was modified into a simpler, shorter form.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Michael Pohl. (1993). Die Grosse Sauer-Orgel im Berliner Dom [CD]. Ursina Motette. ISSN 4-008950-117812.
[edit] External links
The Wikimedia Commons has media related to Berlin Cathedral.- Berlin Cathedral History, description, visitor information
- Berlin Cathedral - Panorama
- Berlin Cathedral, its destruction and restoration
- Berlin Webcam with view to Berlin Cathedral and the Palace of the Republic
 |
Museum Island in Berlin |  |
|---|---|---|
| Pergamon Museum | Altes Museum | Bode Museum | Alte Nationalgalerie | Neues Museum | Berlin Cathedral | Lustgarten | James Simon Gallery | ||
