Haberberg Church (german: Haberberger Kirche) or Holy Trinity Church (german: St. Trinitatis-Kirche) was a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

in the

Haberberg Unterhaberberg Oberhaberberg Haberberg was a mostly residential quarter of southern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of the Moskovsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. History The hill Haberberg located south of Hintere Vorstadt ...

quarter of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Its 18th-century

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

interior was one of the most beautiful in

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

History

Construction of the church began with a chapel at the highest point of Oberhaberberg in 1537. The

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

community became its own parish separate from that of

Königsberg Cathedral , infobox_width = , image = Kaliningrad 05-2017 img04 Kant Island.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Front (west side) of the cathedral , map_type = , map_ ...

in 1652, and a new church was built from 1653 to 1683 with its steeple following in 1705. After burning down because of a winter lightning strike in 1747, the rebuilt church was rebuilt from 1748 to 1753 and dedicated in the latter year. Its organ, designed by Adam Gottlob Casparini, was completed in 1753, with its altar following in 1765. In 1774 the church's steeple was topped with a weathervane by the Königsberg coppersmith Lorenz Wietander, depicting a single-winged golden angel. Upon the recommendation of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

, it became the first church of Königsberg with a lightning rod in 1783. The church was used as a field hospital for

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

troops following the

Battle of Eylau The Battle of Eylau, or Battle of Preussisch-Eylau, was a bloody and strategically inconclusive battle on 7 and 8 February 1807 between Napoléon's ''Grande Armée'' and the Imperial Russian Army under the command of Levin August von Bennigs ...

of 7–8 February 1807. A shell struck the church during the bombardment of Königsberg by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

troops on 14 June. The parish's cemetery was located in

Nasser Garten Nasser Garten or Nassengarten was a quarter of Königsberg, Germany, located southwest of the city center. Its territory is now part of the Moskovsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. History The name Nasser Garten name means "wet garden" in Germa ...

. In 1905 the community of

Ponarth Ponarth Dimitrovo (russian: Димитрово) is part of the Moskovsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. Until 1947, it was known by its German language name Ponarth as first a suburb of and then a quarter of Königsberg, Germany, located southwe ...

became its own parish separate from that of Haberberg. Haberberg Church was heavily damaged during the 1945

Battle of Königsberg The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussia ...

. Its remnants were demolished in 1953 while part of

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Gallery

Image:Haberberger Trinitatis-Kirche.jpg, View from the train station Image:Haberberg Kirchen Innenraum.jpg, Rococo interior Image:Haberberger Kirche aussen.jpg, View from

Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...

References

* * * {{Authority control 1537 establishments in Europe 1945 disestablishments in Germany 16th-century Lutheran churches in Germany Buildings and structures in Germany destroyed during World War II Destroyed churches in Germany Former churches in Königsberg Lutheran churches in Königsberg Religious organizations established in the 1530s Rococo architecture in Germany