St. Hedwig's Cathedral () is the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cathedral of the Archdiocese of Berlin on Bebelplatz in the historic centre of Berlin. Dedicated to Hedwig of Silesia, it was erected from 1747 to 1773 by order of Frederick the Great according to plans by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in Baroque style. Damaged during the Allied bombing in World War II, the cathedral's interior was restored from 1952 to 1963 in post-war modernist style as part of the rebuilding of the Forum Fridericianum on Bebelplatz. The

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

was closed for renovation work from 2018 and reopened on November 24, 2024 with a modern interior design.

History and architecture

St. Hedwig's Church was built in the 18th century following a request from local parishioners to King Frederick II. He donated the land on which the church was built. The church was dedicated to the patron of

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, Saint Hedwig of Andechs. It was the first Catholic church built in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

after the Reformation. The building was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff and modelled after the Pantheon in Rome. Construction started in 1747, but was interrupted and delayed several times by economic problems. It was not opened until 1 November 1773, when the king's friend, Ignacy Krasicki, the Bishop of Warmia (later Archbishop of Gniezno), officiated at the cathedral's consecration. After the Kristallnacht pogroms that took place on the night of 9–10 November 1938, Bernhard Lichtenberg, a canon of the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

of St. Hedwig since 1931, prayed publicly for Jews at evening prayer. Lichtenberg was later jailed by the Nazis and died on the way to the

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

at Dachau. In 1965, Blessed Bernhard Lichtenberg's remains were transferred to the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

at St. Hedwig's Cathedral. The cathedral was severely damaged by Allied bombing in an air raid on 1 March 1943. Only the damaged shell of the building was left standing. Reconstruction started in 1952 and on 1 November 1963, All Saints' Day, the new high altar was consecrated by the Bishop of Berlin, Alfred Cardinal Bengsch. Between 1949 and 1990, St. Hedwig's was in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

, under the control of the East German government. The cathedral closed for major renovations on 1 September 2018. The relics of Bl. Bernhard Lichtenberg have been transferred to the crypt of Maria Regina Martyrum during the cathedral's renovation. The church of St. Joseph in Wedding is the interim location for pontifical masses. A focal point of the renovations is a hemispherical altar composed of small stones from around the diocese collected by parishioners, based on an idea proposed by Austrian artist Leo Zogmayer. The two-story interior of 1963, with a wide gallery and an awkwardly narrow opening down to the chancel, was divided into two floors, with the new church interior on the upper level.

Tapestries

Fitting to the character of the liturgical season, a huge tapestry is hanging behind the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

. The cathedral owns three of them; all three share the motif of the heavenly Jerusalem. The tapestry of former Bauhaus student Margaretha Reichardt (Grete Reichardt) (1907–1984) of

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

was handwoven in 1963. It depicts a stylised city with the names of the apostles inscribed on foundation stones. God is represented by the

Tree of Life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

and a lamb features as a symbol of Christ. (1891–1965) made a colorful appliqué work. It is a geometric composition using themes from the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

. The three-part woven carpet made by (born 1933) was made in cooperation with Nürnberger Gobelinmanufaktur GmbH, a tapestry weaving company, between 1979 and 1981. This also uses themes from Revelations.

Burials in the crypt

* Konrad von Preysing * Alfred Bengsch * Bernhard Lichtenberg * Georg Sterzinsky

Gallery

Hedwigskathedrale Aufriss Opernplatz.jpg, Plan of Jean Laurent Legeay with Drawing of Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in 1747, the top dome was never rebuilt Opernplatz, Berlin 1880.jpg, Opernplatz with undone church before 1886 OpernplatzHedwigskirche1850.jpg, Drawing of the cathedral by Joseph Maximilian Kolb, 1850 Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-Z0929-312,_Berlin,_Hedwigskirche,_Opernplatz.jpg, Cathedral in 1886 M Hedwigskirche Berlin 1886.jpg, Cathedral after 1886 Innenansicht der St.-Hedwigs-Kirche (Verona).jpg, Interior by 1780 M Hedwigskirche Berlin innen 1886.jpg, Interior before air raids of 1943 Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1985-1108-514, Berlin, beschädigte St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale.jpg, Ruins of the cathedral after WWII in 1946 StHedvigFotoThalerTamas1.jpg, Interior in 2016 with opening in the floor St. Hedwigs Kathedrale Innenansicht.jpg, Interior with organ in June 2014 Berlin Hedwigskathedrale Altar.jpg, Altar Column St.Hedwig Berlin (31).JPG, Organ in the lower church Grab Bernhard Lichtenberg.jpg, Tomb of Bernhard Lichtenberg in

File:St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale (Berlin) 04.jpg, Interior in December 2024 File:St. Hedwigs-Kathedrale (Berlin) 08.jpg, Interior with organ in December 2024

References

External links