Churches in Berlin
With Sunday our first full day in Berlin, I wanted to make sure I had several options for making it to Mass, depending how awake any of us were at any time. There were Masses in the morning, close to our hotel, and there was a late afternoon Mass at the Sankt-Hedwigs-Kathedrale.
We ended up at St. Hedwig.
Mass was in German, of course.
One thing that really illuminated the diverse regions represented among the Mass attendees was what happened after the singing of the Memorial Acclamation. Some people rose, while most remained kneeling. We have seen a mix of both in our living and travels outside of the US, where people either kneel or remain standing through the whole Eucharistic Prayer. In every Chinese parish I have been in, we kneel, then get up during the Memorial Acclamation. I have also witnessed this in Verona, and maybe some other places (I need to keep better notes).
This building was the first Catholic Church constructed in Berlin after the Reformation. Under Friedrich der Große, St. Hedwig was built on land he donated. Not a Catholic himself, Friedrich II was tolerant of the growing Catholic presence in Berlin following his conquest of Silesia, and thus responded to their need for a church. It was (and continues to be) an interesting a building, based on the Roman Pantheon with a dome on top. When the Diocese of Berlin was created in 1930, St. Hedwig was designated as the cathedral.
Unfortunately, I did not get a good exterior picture of the whole church that day since we were rushing both before and after Mass. But there are pictures all over the internet.
The church roof and interior were destroyed in World War II, and it took years to rebuild it. The current iteration places the pews in the round.
Also in the post-war reconstruction, an opening was created in the floor before the altar. Steps led down to the tabernacle and the crypts. The altar connects both levels. In between the levels is a 14th century Sienese statue of St. Peter that was given to the Archdiocese of Berlin as a gift from Pope John Paul II. This design is oddly controversial and considered too modern. I saw it and immediately thought of St. George in Prague and St. Eulalia in Barcelona, neither of which would be viewed as modern.
After Mass, Brigid found the candles, as she always does.
There is more to see at St. Hedwig, but we didn't get it done in our week in Berlin. Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg is buried in the crypt there. He was the rector of the parish during the 1930s when he publicly opposed and denounced the Nazis. He was eventually arrested and sent to Dachau. He died in transit to the concentration camp in 1943.
That night following Mass, we found an Italian restaurant at Gendarmenmarkt, a large public square in front of Berlin Konzerthaus. One one side of the square is the Französischer Dom, the church built for the large French Huguenot community in Berlin. It is still used as an German Evangelical church to this day. Opposite the French church is Deutscher Dom, at one time a Calvinist church for German-speakers. Being that both of these churches were built for Protestant Congregations, it is important to point out that the German word "Dom" is used only to refer to the domes of these churches, not that they are Catholic cathedrals, like Kölner Dom. Or at least all of the travel websites make that distinction.
Later in our week in Berlin, the kids and I visited Museuminsel (Museum Island). We didn't have time to go inside, but we did walk past the Berlin Cathedral. This was built around the turn of the 20th century, and was intended to be a Protestant building to rival St. Peter in Rome.
If we get back to Berlin, I hope to have the chance to spend some more time visiting these and other churches.
We ended up at St. Hedwig.
Mass was in German, of course.
One thing that really illuminated the diverse regions represented among the Mass attendees was what happened after the singing of the Memorial Acclamation. Some people rose, while most remained kneeling. We have seen a mix of both in our living and travels outside of the US, where people either kneel or remain standing through the whole Eucharistic Prayer. In every Chinese parish I have been in, we kneel, then get up during the Memorial Acclamation. I have also witnessed this in Verona, and maybe some other places (I need to keep better notes).
This building was the first Catholic Church constructed in Berlin after the Reformation. Under Friedrich der Große, St. Hedwig was built on land he donated. Not a Catholic himself, Friedrich II was tolerant of the growing Catholic presence in Berlin following his conquest of Silesia, and thus responded to their need for a church. It was (and continues to be) an interesting a building, based on the Roman Pantheon with a dome on top. When the Diocese of Berlin was created in 1930, St. Hedwig was designated as the cathedral.
Unfortunately, I did not get a good exterior picture of the whole church that day since we were rushing both before and after Mass. But there are pictures all over the internet.
The church roof and interior were destroyed in World War II, and it took years to rebuild it. The current iteration places the pews in the round.
Also in the post-war reconstruction, an opening was created in the floor before the altar. Steps led down to the tabernacle and the crypts. The altar connects both levels. In between the levels is a 14th century Sienese statue of St. Peter that was given to the Archdiocese of Berlin as a gift from Pope John Paul II. This design is oddly controversial and considered too modern. I saw it and immediately thought of St. George in Prague and St. Eulalia in Barcelona, neither of which would be viewed as modern.
After Mass, Brigid found the candles, as she always does.
There is more to see at St. Hedwig, but we didn't get it done in our week in Berlin. Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg is buried in the crypt there. He was the rector of the parish during the 1930s when he publicly opposed and denounced the Nazis. He was eventually arrested and sent to Dachau. He died in transit to the concentration camp in 1943.
That night following Mass, we found an Italian restaurant at Gendarmenmarkt, a large public square in front of Berlin Konzerthaus. One one side of the square is the Französischer Dom, the church built for the large French Huguenot community in Berlin. It is still used as an German Evangelical church to this day. Opposite the French church is Deutscher Dom, at one time a Calvinist church for German-speakers. Being that both of these churches were built for Protestant Congregations, it is important to point out that the German word "Dom" is used only to refer to the domes of these churches, not that they are Catholic cathedrals, like Kölner Dom. Or at least all of the travel websites make that distinction.
Later in our week in Berlin, the kids and I visited Museuminsel (Museum Island). We didn't have time to go inside, but we did walk past the Berlin Cathedral. This was built around the turn of the 20th century, and was intended to be a Protestant building to rival St. Peter in Rome.
If we get back to Berlin, I hope to have the chance to spend some more time visiting these and other churches.
Comments