The Luisenstädtische Kirche was a church building in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, in the former

Luisenstadt Luisenstadt () is a former quarter (''Stadtteil'') of central Berlin, now divided between the present localities of Mitte and Kreuzberg. It gave its name to the Luisenstadt Canal and the Luisenstädtische Kirche. History The area of the neighb ...

district (now part of the

Berlin-Mitte Mitte () (German for "middle" or "center") is a central locality () of Berlin in the eponymous district () of Mitte. Until 2001, it was itself an autonomous district. Mitte proper comprises the historic center of Alt-Berlin centered on the chu ...

and

Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg () is the second borough of Berlin, formed in 2001 by merging the former East Berlin borough of Friedrichshain and the former West Berlin borough of Kreuzberg. The historic Oberbaum Bridge, formerly a Berlin border cro ...

districts), on Alte Jacobstraße between Sebastianstraße and Stallschreiberstraße. It was originally known as the ''Kirche in der Cöpenicker Vorstadt'' (church in the

Köpenick Köpenick () is a historic town and locality (''Ortsteil'') in Berlin, situated at the confluence of the rivers Dahme and Spree in the south-east of the German capital. It was formerly known as Copanic and then Cöpenick, only officially adopt ...

suburb), then from 1785 to 1795 as the ''Köllnische Vorstadtkirche'' (

Cölln Cölln () was the twin city of Old Berlin (Altberlin) from the 13th century to the 18th century. Cölln was located on the Fisher Island section of Spree Island, opposite Altberlin on the western bank of the River Spree, until the cities we ...

ian suburb church), then from 1795 to 1837 as the ''Sebastiankirche'', after presbyter and city-councillor Sebastian Nethe, taking its final name in 1837.

History

The first church on the site was a simple half-timbered Baroque building designed by

Martin Grünberg Martin Grünberg (born 1655, Insterburg, then in East Prussia, now in Russia – between 16 and 23 October 1706 or 1707Precise date of death unknown) was a German architect and master builder. Life He was active in Berlin from 1687 onwards, a ...

and constructed in 1694–95, when the outside the Köpenick Gate became a parish of its own. This quickly became dilapidated and was demolished for a new building on the same site, built from 1751 to 1753 and designed by Christian August Naumann (died after 1757) and Johann Gottfried Büring (1723 and after 1788). The church was 40m long with a 15.75 wide, with a rectangular hall-nave, arched windows and a high hipped roof brick on four sides, with entrances located under the tower and on the two narrow sides. The pulpit and altar faced the tower entrance, in front of the font and on the east side of the organ. The Köpenick suburb was renamed Luisenstadt in honour of Queen

Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Duchess Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Luise Auguste Wilhelmine Amalie; 10 March 1776 – 19 July 1810) was Queen of Prussia as the wife of King Frederick William III. The couple's happy, though short-lived, marriage produced nine child ...

in 1802, leading to the church being renamed the Luisenstädtische Kirche in 1837. In 1841 the wooden pillars supporting its gallery were replaced by cast zinc ones and the vestry, pulpit and organ renovated and enlarged, with a new west tower by

August Soller Johann August Karl Soller (14 March 1805 – 6 November 1853) was a Prussian, and later, German architect.

completed four years later in 1845. The construction work was initially led by

Wilhelm Berger Wilhelm Reinhard Berger (9 August 1861 – 16 January 1911) was a German composer, pianist and conductor. Life Berger's father, originally a merchant from Bremen, worked in Boston (where Berger was born) as a music shopkeeper and made a name for ...

(1790–1858), then by

Friedrich August Stüler Friedrich August Stüler (28 January 1800 – 18 March 1865) was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterpiece is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Schloss. ...

. The interior of the church was redesigned in 1891. On 3 February 1945 it was destroyed by

Allied bombing of Berlin in World War II An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alli ...

. When the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

was built in 1961 the church's ruins stood in the boundary strip and it was proposed that the local community should fund a high wire fence and limestone wall put up around the ruins and the demolition of the upper levels of the tower. The community could not afford this and

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

's magistrate refused offers of financial help from

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

. Thus it was decided to demolish the ruins with the permission of the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistory ...

of the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg – since there was no chance of rebuilding a church only a few metres from the border – and to remove the surrounding cemetery. The demolition was carried out on 29 May 1964, though the foundations still remain in the former cemetery, which is now a park (the foundations and the graves are listed as an archaeological monument).

Sources

* *http://www.luise-berlin.de/lexikon/mitte/l/luisenstaedtische_kirche.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20110112084410/http://www.kkbs.de/1030618/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Luisenstadtische Kirche Luisenstadtkirche Luisenstadtkirche Berlin Luisenstadtkirche Berlin Luisenstadtkirche Luisenstadtkirche Berlin Luisenstadtkirche Berlin Luisenstadtkirche Luisenstadtkirche 1695 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire