Holy Trinity Church (Berlin)
Encyclopedia
Trinity Church was a Baroque
Protestant church in Berlin, eastern Germany, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It was opened in August 1739 and destroyed in November 1943, with its rubble removed in 1947.
It was located in the Friedrichstadt
district (now part of the Mitte
borough), at the intersection of Mauerstraße, Kanonierstraße (now known as Glinkastraße) and Mohrenstraße at the postcode 10117 Berlin. Three domestic houses used as a vicarages were built on Glinkastraße/Taubenstraße and the two which survived World War II are still part of the parish today (Glinkastraße 16 and Taubenstraße 3.). A similar church, the 1737 Böhmische Bethlehems-Kirche was also nearby (Bethlehemskirchplatz).
led to a need for new church buildings. The first stone for Trinity Church was laid in August 1737 and Titus Favre made head of works. It was designed by Christian August Naumann
as a circular building with four short projections, suggesting a cross shape.
It also had a 22m diameter dome over the centre of the cross, consisting of a tiled wooden structure with an octagonal lantern that served as bell tower and internal decoration representing the Four Evangelists. The nave was initially surrounded by three galleries, with the pulpit altar, organ and a second altar on the east side. The church was consecrated on 30 August 1739 and for around a hundred years after that was the newest Protestant church building in Berlin. Its first pastor, the teacher and theologian Julius Hecker, was appointed by Frederick William himself.
During Napoleon I
's occupation of Berlin the church was temporarily used as a barracks, whilst the theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher preached there from 1809 to 1834 and also confirmed the future chancellor Otto von Bismarck
in the church in 1831.
Schleiermacher, who had made the case for a union
of the Lutheran and Calvinist congregations in Prussia
, persuaded the congregation not only to join the united umbrella Evangelical Church in Prussia (est. in 1817) but to also adopt the union confession for the congregation itself, which was not required but introduced by a handful of congregations in Berlin.
The upper gallery was rebuilt by the architect Adolf Lohse
in 1864. Hermann von Dryander was the church's pastor from 1882 to 1898, during which time a baptistery and a new vestry porch were added to plans by the architects Vohl and Friedrich Schulze
between 1885 and 1886.
Paul von Hindenburg
went to Sunday service at the church, whilst Dietrich Bonhoeffer
preached at university services there during his time as lecturer and chaplain at the TU Berlin from 1932 to 1933. It was destroyed by bombing in November 1943 and its ruins were then used as a Nazi Party bunker before being demolished at the end of the war. The parish continued holding services after the war until at least the 1970s in the Gemeindehaus on Wilhelmstraße 115.
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
Protestant church in Berlin, eastern Germany, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It was opened in August 1739 and destroyed in November 1943, with its rubble removed in 1947.
It was located in the Friedrichstadt
Friedrichstadt (Berlin)
Friedrichstadt was an independent suburb of Berlin, and is now a historical neighborhood of the city itself. The neighborhood is named after the Prussian king Frederick I.-Geography:...
district (now part of the Mitte
Mitte
Mitte is the first and most central borough of Berlin. It was created in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform by the merger of the former districts of Mitte proper, Tiergarten and Wedding; the resulting borough retained the name Mitte. It is one of the two boroughs which comprises former West and...
borough), at the intersection of Mauerstraße, Kanonierstraße (now known as Glinkastraße) and Mohrenstraße at the postcode 10117 Berlin. Three domestic houses used as a vicarages were built on Glinkastraße/Taubenstraße and the two which survived World War II are still part of the parish today (Glinkastraße 16 and Taubenstraße 3.). A similar church, the 1737 Böhmische Bethlehems-Kirche was also nearby (Bethlehemskirchplatz).
History
The expansion of Berlin by Frederick William I of PrussiaFrederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I of the House of Hohenzollern, was the King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death...
led to a need for new church buildings. The first stone for Trinity Church was laid in August 1737 and Titus Favre made head of works. It was designed by Christian August Naumann
Christian August Naumann
Christian August Naumann was a German architect. His designs include the Luisenstädtische Kirche and Holy Trinity Church, both in Berlin and both now destroyed.-Sources:...
as a circular building with four short projections, suggesting a cross shape.
It also had a 22m diameter dome over the centre of the cross, consisting of a tiled wooden structure with an octagonal lantern that served as bell tower and internal decoration representing the Four Evangelists. The nave was initially surrounded by three galleries, with the pulpit altar, organ and a second altar on the east side. The church was consecrated on 30 August 1739 and for around a hundred years after that was the newest Protestant church building in Berlin. Its first pastor, the teacher and theologian Julius Hecker, was appointed by Frederick William himself.
During Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
's occupation of Berlin the church was temporarily used as a barracks, whilst the theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher preached there from 1809 to 1834 and also confirmed the future chancellor Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
in the church in 1831.
Schleiermacher, who had made the case for a union
United and uniting churches
United and uniting churches are churches formed from the merger or other form of union of two or more different Protestant denominations.Perhaps the oldest example of a united church is found in Germany, where the Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran, United and Reformed...
of the Lutheran and Calvinist congregations in Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
, persuaded the congregation not only to join the united umbrella Evangelical Church in Prussia (est. in 1817) but to also adopt the union confession for the congregation itself, which was not required but introduced by a handful of congregations in Berlin.
The upper gallery was rebuilt by the architect Adolf Lohse
Adolf Lohse
Adolf Lohse was a Prussian master builder and architect. He was a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel and one of his projects was the Schloss Albrechtsberg in Dresden....
in 1864. Hermann von Dryander was the church's pastor from 1882 to 1898, during which time a baptistery and a new vestry porch were added to plans by the architects Vohl and Friedrich Schulze
Friedrich Schulze
Friedrich Schulze, Friedrich Schulze-Colbitz or Friedrich Schulze-Kolbitz was a German architect and Prussian master of works....
between 1885 and 1886.
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
went to Sunday service at the church, whilst Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian and martyr. He was a participant in the German resistance movement against Nazism and a founding member of the Confessing Church. He was involved in plans by members of the Abwehr to assassinate Adolf Hitler...
preached at university services there during his time as lecturer and chaplain at the TU Berlin from 1932 to 1933. It was destroyed by bombing in November 1943 and its ruins were then used as a Nazi Party bunker before being demolished at the end of the war. The parish continued holding services after the war until at least the 1970s in the Gemeindehaus on Wilhelmstraße 115.
Cemeteries
The congregation comprised many known Berliners as parishioners since its parish included quarters of central Berlin fancy to live in among the better off in the 19th century. The cemeteries still preserve many graves of known parishioners. The cemeteries are each called Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof and are numbered:- Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof I, opened in 1739, located amidst a compound of cemeteries of seven congregations, therefore there is no direct access but either via Friedhof I der Jerusalems-Jerusalem's ChurchJerusalem's Church is one of the churches of the Evangelical Congregation in the Friedrichstadt , a member of the Protestant umbrella organisation Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia. The present church building is located in Berlin, borough Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, in...
und Neuen Kirche, Zossener Straße opposite to #58, or via Friedhof III der Jerusalems- und Neuen Kirche, Mehringdamm 21 (near the homonymous U-Bahn stationMehringdamm (Berlin U-Bahn)Mehringdamm is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the and the .Opened in 1924 as Belle-Alliance Strasse it was built by Grenander and later renovated by Rümmler. In 1946 the station was renamed Franz-Mehring-Strasse, after the socialist politician. In 1947, the station received it's current name...
), both Berlin-Kreuzberg - Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof II, opened in 1825, Bergmannstraße 39–41, Berlin-Kreuzberg
- Dreifaltigkeitsfriedhof III, opened in 1900, Eisenacher Straße 61, Berlin-Mariendorf