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 The Archdiocese of Berlin () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Germany. The episcopal see, archepiscopal see is in Berlin, with the archdiocese's territory extending over Northeast Germany. As o ...

Bebelplatz The Bebelplatz (formerly and colloquially the Opernplatz) is a public square in the central Mitte (locality), Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Following World War II, the square was renamed after August Bebel, a founder of the So ...

in the historic centre of Berlin. Dedicated to

Hedwig of Silesia Hedwig of Silesia (also Hedwig of Andechs (, , ; 1174 – 15 October 1243), a member of the Bavarians, Bavarian comital Counts of Andechs, House of Andechs, was Duchess of Duchy of Silesia, Silesia from 1201 and of Duchy of Greater Poland, G ...

, it was erected from 1747 to 1773 by order of

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

according to plans by

Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff (Hans) Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff (17 February 1699 – 16 September 1753) was a painter and architect in Prussia. Knobelsdorff was born in Kuckädel, now in Krosno Odrzańskie County. A soldier in the service of Prussia, he resigned his ...

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

. 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 Hedwig of Silesia (also Hedwig of Andechs (, , ; 1174 – 15 October 1243), a member of the Bavarian comital House of Andechs, was Duchess of Silesia from 1201 and of Greater Poland from 1231 as well as High Duchess consort of Poland from ...

. 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 Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. The building was designed by

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 Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Polish Enlightenment, Enlightenment ...

, the

Bishop of Warmia This is a list of Bishops and Prince-Bishops of the Diocese of Warmia (, , ), which was elevated to the Archdiocese of Warmia in 1992. The Bishopric was founded in 1243 as the Bishopric of Ermland, one of four bishoprics of Teutonic Prussia ...

(later

Archbishop of Gniezno This is a list of archbishops of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Gniezno, Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primate (bishop), primates of Poland since 1418.Kristallnacht ( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...

pogroms that took place on the night of 9–10 November 1938,

Bernhard Lichtenberg Bernhard Lichtenberg (; 3 December 1875 – 5 November 1943) was a German Catholic priest known for his outspoken opposition to the Nazi regime’s persecution of Jews and other marginalized groups during the Holocaust. He became a notable s ...

, a

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

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 ...

Dachau Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

. 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 Maria Regina Martyrum ( (actually Gedächtniskirche Maria Regina Martyrum der deutschen Katholiken zu Ehren der Blutzeugen für Glaubens- und Gewissensfreiheit in den Jahren 1933–1945) literally in English ''Commemorative church Mary Queen of ...

during the cathedral's renovation. The church of

St. Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orth ...

in Wedding is the interim location for

pontifical mass A Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. Although in modern English the word ''pontifical'' is almost exclusively associated with the pope, a ...

es. 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 The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

student

Margaretha Reichardt Margaretha Reichardt (6 March 1907 – 25 May 1984), also known as Grete Reichardt, was a textile artist, weaver, and graphic designer from Erfurt, Germany.

(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 Appliqué is ornamental needlework in which pieces or patches of fabric in different shapes and patterns are sewn or stuck onto a larger piece to form a picture or pattern. It is commonly used as decoration, especially on garments. The technique ...

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 *

* Georg Sterzinsky

Gallery

Hedwigskathedrale Aufriss Opernplatz.jpg, Plan of Jean Laurent Legeay with Drawing of

in 1747, the top dome was never rebuilt Opernplatz, Berlin 1880.jpg,

Opernplatz The Opernplatz (Opera Square) is a central city square in Frankfurt, Germany, located in the district of Innenstadt (Inner City) and within the central business district known as the Bankenviertel (Banking District). The Opernplatz is the most ...

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

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